May 18, 2012 -- Updated 1913 GMT (0313 HKT) Washington (CNN) -- A divided federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a key enforcement provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as Section 5, it gives the federal government open-ended oversight of states and localities with a history of voter discrimination. Any changes in voting laws and procedures in the covered states must be "pre-cleared" with Washington. The provision was reauthorized in 2006 for another quarter-century, and an Alabama county subsequently filed suit, saying the monitoring was overly burdensome and unwarranted. But in this case, a majority of the federal judges disagreed. "Congress drew reasonable...
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