Cite as: 520 U. S. 471 (1997)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
As the Court recognizes, ante, at 481-482, the law has changed in two respects since the announcement of the Beer dictum. In 1980, in what was perceived by Congress to be a change in the standard applied in White v. Regester, a plurality of this Court concluded that discriminatory purpose is an essential element of a constitutional vote dilution challenge. See Mobile v. Bolden, 446 U. S., at 62. In reaction to that decision, in 1982 Congress amended § 2 by placing in the statute the language used in the White opinion to describe what is commonly known as the "results" standard for evaluating vote dilution challenges. See 96 Stat. 134 (now codified at 42 U. S. C. §§ 1973(a)-(b)); Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U. S. 30, 35 (1986).8 Thus Congress preserved, as a matter of statutory law, the very same standard that the Court had identified in Beer as an exception to the general rule requiring preclearance of nonretrogressive changes. Because in 1975 Beer required denial of preclearance for voting plans that violated the White standard, it follows that Congress, in preserving the White standard, intended also that the Attorney General should continue to refuse to preclear plans violating that standard.
That intent is confirmed by the legislative history of the 1982 Act. The Senate Report states:
"Under the rule of Beer v. United States, 425 U. S. 130 (1976), a voting change which is ameliorative is not objectionable unless the change 'itself so discriminates on the basis of race or color as to violate the Constitution.' 425 U. S. at 141; see also 142 n. 14 (citing to the dilution cases from Fortson v. Dorsey[, 379 U. S. 433 (1965),] through White v. Regester). In light of the amendment to section 2, it is intended that a section 5 objection also follow if a new voting procedure itself so
at 484, of § 5 supports a denial of preclearance for at least some nonretrogressive changes.
8 The amended version of § 2 tracks the language in White v. Regester, 412 U. S. 755, 766 (1973).
505
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