of 1965, there would be no barack obama as president of the united states of america. we've come too far, made too much progress to go back. >> this decision represents a serious setback for voting rights. and has the potential to negatively affect millions of americans across the country. >> in a 5-4 ruling the court's conservatives said the areas covered by the voting rights act have changed but the law has not kept up. the act requires states with a history of voter discrimination to get permission from the federal government before changing how they conduct elections. the court left that part intact. but it struck down the map, the coverage formula of where that requirement applies. that's all of nine mostly southern states and parts of six others. chief justice kru john roberts said the map is based on decades-old data and eradicated practices. in five of the covered southern states, he said, african-americans have a higher voter turnout percentage than whites. opponents of the law who helped shelby county, alabama challenge