The Bronx, New York (pop.1,332,650), Pinkham’s Grant, New Hampshire (pop. zero), and Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One (pop. 3,500) in Travis County, Texas share a special status under our nation’s civil rights laws: All are covered by Section 5 of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that was designed to end black disenfranchisement in the Deep South. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments to determine if this provision is still constitutional.

These three, far-flung jurisdictions–and thousands of others–are subject to Section 5 for one reason: When Congress reauthorized the law in 2006, it feared having a serious debate on the need to modernize our civil rights statutes and instead abdicated all political responsibility to the courts.