A day before starting their summer break, U.S. Supreme Court justices tossed out part of one of the country's most significant civil rights laws – the 1965 Voting Rights Act, passed back when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House (eight presidents ago) and when voter registration drives were resisted forcefully in some areas. The 5-4 ruling on June 25 says a map of states and counties covered by the voter-protection law can't be used anymore because it's "based on 40-year-old facts having no logical relationship to the present day."

The map showed areas in the South and elsewhere that needed an advance federal OK to change election laws because they had a history of racial discrimination against minority voters. In the 2012 election, "African-American voter turnout exceeded white voter turnout in five of the six states originally covered," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. Other critics of the law said President Obama's election shows it's no longer needed.

Congress appears unlikely to draw a new map, a politically touchy task. The Justice Department still can respond to complaints and challenge new voting policies -- such as photo ID requirements, revised district boundaries or cutbacks in urban voting sites -- but no longer has to review any ahead of time. The decision has an immediate impact. Texas already announced that a voter ID law that had been blocked would take effect immediately.

Chief justice says: "Our country has changed. And while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions." – John Roberts, author of the majority opinion

Editorial says: "The Supreme Court 'fixed' a law that wasn't broken. . . . The law worked, and there are ways to improve it short of the radical surgery the court performed." -- New York Times

NAACP official says: "We're outraged about this decision. . . . Why would you get rid of something that's proved to be effective?" -- Melvin Hollowell, Detroit chapter attorney