The Supreme Court looks to strike down or otherwise gut a centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act. There will be far less scrutiny of thousands of decisions each year about redrawing district lines, moving or closing polling places, changing voting hours or imposing voter identification requirements in areas that have a history of disenfranchising minority voters. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/us/politics/voting-law-decision-could-sharply-limit-scrutiny-of-rules.html?hp&_r=0 Sections outlaw rules that intentionally discriminate against or otherwise disproportionately harm minority voters. Losing Section Five would be “devastating to protecting voting rights” because the costs of a lawsuit are so steep. Section Five has had a deterrent effect and “gives minority voters in covered jurisdictions a seat at the bargaining table” when election rules changes are proposed.