Cite as: 520 U. S. 273 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
Nor does it matter for the preclearance requirement whether the change works in favor of, works against, or is neutral in its impact upon the ability of minorities to vote. See generally City of Lockhart v. United States, supra (requiring preclearance of a change but finding the change nonretrogressive). It is change that invokes the preclearance process; evaluation of that change concerns the merits of whether the change should in fact be precleared. See Lopez, supra, at 22-25; Allen, supra, at 555, n. 19, 558-559. That is so because preclearance is a process aimed at preserving the status quo until the Attorney General or the courts have an opportunity to evaluate a proposed change. See McCain v. Lybrand, 465 U. S. 236, 243-244 (1984) (Without § 5, even successful antidiscrimination lawsuits might "merely resul[t] in a change in methods of discrimination"); South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U. S. 301, 335 (1966) (same); id., at 328 (explaining how the VRA could attack the problems of States going from one discriminatory system to another, by shifting "the advantage of time and inertia" to the potential victims of that discrimination).
In this case, the New System contains numerous examples of new, significantly different administrative practices—practices that are not purely ministerial, but reflect the exercise of policy choice and discretion by Mississippi officials. The system, for example, involves newly revised written materials containing significant, and significantly different, registration instructions; new reporting requirements for local elections officials; new and detailed instructions about what kind of assistance state agency personnel should offer potential NVRA registrants, which state agencies will be NVRA registration agencies, and how and in what form registration material is to be forwarded to those who maintain the voting rolls; and other similar matters. Insofar as they embody discretionary decisions that have a potential for discriminatory impact, they are appropriate matters for review under § 5's preclearance process.
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