Cite as: 517 U. S. 186 (1996)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
at 456 ("The events of 1964 demonstrate the need" to expand § 14). As he later explained, the solution that was reached to this problem was "to add to the definition of the word 'vote' in section 14(c)(1)." 111 Cong. Rec. 16273. The Party's delegates to its 1994 convention were chosen through precisely the same methods Representative Bingham described: mass meetings, conventions, and canvasses. Exempting the Party from the scope of § 14 would thus defeat the purpose for which the House and eventually Congress as a whole adopted Representative Bingham's amendment.
The text of § 2 also makes apparent the Act's intended coverage of nonprimary nomination methods. Section 2, which bans any "voting qualification or prerequisite" that discriminates on account of race or color, considers a violation to have occurred if "the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of [groups protected by the Act] in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice." 42 U. S. C. § 1973(b) (1988 ed.) (emphasis added). Under the broad sweep of this language, exclusion from a nominating convention would qualify as a violation. Section 2 "adopts the functional view of 'political process' " and applies to "any phase of the electoral process." S. Rep. No. 97-417, at 30, and n. 120.
If such practices and procedures fall within the scope of § 2, they must also be subject to § 5. In recent cases, some Members of this Court have questioned whether § 2 is as broad as § 5, see Chisom v. Roemer, 501 U. S., at 416-417 (Scalia, J., dissenting); Holder v. Hall, 512 U. S., at 882-885 (opinion of Kennedy, J.); id., at 930 (Thomas, J., concurring in judgment), but there has never been any doubt about the converse—that changes in practices within covered jurisdictions that would be potentially objectionable under § 2 are also covered under § 5. The purpose of preclearance is to
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