U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder working to protect voting rights

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. PHOTO/File

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is in Philadelphia to discuss how voting rights could be affected by a recent Supreme Court decision.

Holder is addressing the National Urban League, Thursday. The civil rights group is holding its annual conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Holder has announced that the Justice Department would ask a court to require that the state of Texas get clearance from the Justice Department before making any new changes to voting laws over the next decade.

The move comes about a month after the Supreme Court struck down a key section of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, and signals a new front in the Justice Department’s political battle with states over imposing new rules and restrictions on voting.

The provision had required states with histories of voting discrimination to get federal approval before changing how they hold elections. The states are mainly in the South.

The league’s four-day conference began Wednesday. About 6,000 people are attending.

President Marc Morial says the conference is also focused on increasing economic opportunities for African Americans.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press