Appeals court affirms minority voting rights law

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a key provision of the landmark U.S. voting rights law aimed at protecting minorities in states and local areas with a history of racial discrimination.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 decision said Congress did not exceed its power by renewing a requirement that nine states, mostly in the South, and dozens of local governments with a history of racial discrimination get federal permission to change their election procedures.

"Congress drew reasonable conclusions from the extensive evidence it gathered and acted pursuant to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which entrust Congress with ensuring that the right to vote - surely among the most important guarantees of political liberty in the Constitution - is not abridged on account of race," Judge David Tatel wrote for the majority.