Cite as: 525 U. S. 266 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
merged the remaining two justice court districts into the municipal court district formed by the 1979 consolidation. App. to Juris. Statement 77-80. The merger became effective on January 1, 1984, and the resulting district was countywide. The State, again apparently at the County's request, enacted legislation in September 1983, increasing the number of judges in the County's municipal court district from seven to nine contingent upon the merger of the justice court districts already provided for by the County ordinance. 1983 Cal. Stats., ch. 1249, §§ 3, 16. The State subsequently recognized that the merger had taken effect and provided for the additional judgeships. 1985 Cal. Stats., ch. 659, § 1. Moreover, pursuant to state authorization, the County ultimately increased the number of sitting judges from 9 to the current 10. 1987 Cal. Stats., ch. 1211, § 30; App. to Juris. Statement 81-82. Judicial elections took place under an at-large, countywide plan in 1986, 1988, and 1990.
The County, although covered by § 5 of the Act, failed to seek federal preclearance for any of its six consolidation ordinances. Nor did the State preclear its 1979 law that, like the County ordinance adopted the same year, directed the consolidation of the three municipal court districts. The State did seek the Attorney General's approval, however, for the 1983 state law authorizing additional judgeships upon the final merger of the justice courts into a single, countywide municipal court district. In the process, the State provided the Department of Justice with a copy of the County's 1983 consolidation ordinance. The Attorney General did not oppose the State's 1983 submission, and we have thus observed that this "submission may well have served to preclear the 1983 county ordinance." Lopez v. Monterey County, 519 U. S., at 15. We noted, however, that preclearance of the County's 1983 ordinance probably failed to satisfy the need to preclear the preceding consolidation ordinances, ibid. ("Thus, under our precedent, these previous consolidation ordinances do not appear to have received federal preclear-
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