Cite as: 512 U. S. 874 (1994)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
507 U. S. 25 (1993); City of Lockhart v. United States, 460 U. S. 125 (1983).
The large number of decisions that we would have to overrule or reconsider, as well as the congressional reenactments discussed above, suggests that Justice Thomas' radical reinterpretation of the Voting Rights Act is barred by the well-established principle that stare decisis has special force in the statutory arena. Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U. S. 689, 700 (1992); Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U. S. 164, 171-172 (1989); Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U. S. 720, 736-737 (1977).
Justice Thomas attempts to minimize the radical implications of his interpretation of the phrase "voting qualification . . . standard, practice, or procedure" by noting that this case involves only the interpretation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5, he hints, might be interpreted differently. Even limiting the reinterpretation to § 2 cases, however, would require overruling a sizable number of this Court's precedents. Houston Lawyers' Assn. v. Attorney General of Tex., 501 U. S. 419 (1991); Chisom v. Roemer, 501 U. S. 380 (1991); Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U. S. 30 (1986); see also Voinovich v. Quilter, 507 U. S. 146 (1993); Growe v. Emison, 507 U. S. 25 (1993). In addition, a distinction between §§ 2 and 5 is difficult to square with the language of the statute. Sections 2 and 5 contain exactly the same words: "voting qualification . . . standard, practice, or procedure." If anything, the wording of § 5 is narrower, because it adds the limiting phrase "with respect to voting" after the word "procedure." Moreover, when Congress amended the Voting Rights Act in 1982 in response to Bolden, it amended § 2. As noted above, in those amendments Congress clearly endorsed the application of the Voting Rights Act to vote dilution claims. While a distinction between §§ 2 and 5 might be supportable on policy grounds, it is an odd distinction for devotees of "plain language" interpretation.
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