Cite as: 525 U. S. 266 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
counties are covered); Haith v. Martin, 618 F. Supp. 410 (EDNC 1985) (suit over need to preclear North Carolina laws affecting covered jurisdictions without any claim by State that, as a noncovered jurisdiction, its laws are not subject to § 5), summarily aff'd, 477 U. S. 901 (1986); United States v. Onslow County, 683 F. Supp. 1021, 1024 (EDNC 1988) (covered North Carolina county submitted changes for pre-clearance, including change required by state statute, and court concluded that change required § 5 preclearance). While this Court is not bound by its prior assumptions, see, e. g., Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U. S. 619, 630-631 (1993), the fact that courts and parties alike have routinely assumed a need for preclearance under the circumstances presented here supports our reading of § 5.
Finally, we find it especially relevant that the Attorney General also reads § 5 as we do. According to the Government: "The Attorney General has consistently construed Section 5 to require preclearance when a covered political subdivision 'seek[s] to administer' an enactment of a partially covered State." Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 19; see also S. Rep. No. 97-417, pp. 11-12 (1982) (describing Attorney General's objections to laws enacted by North Carolina and South Dakota, both partially covered States). Subject to certain limitations not implicated here, see, e. g., Presley v. Etowah County Comm'n, 502 U. S. 491, 508-509 (1992), we traditionally afford substantial deference to the Attorney General's interpretation of § 5 in light of her "central role . . . in formulating and implementing" that section. Dougherty County Bd. of Ed. v. White, 439 U. S. 32, 39 (1978); see, e. g., NAACP v. Hampton County Election Comm'n, 470 U. S. 166, 178-179 (1985) ("Any doubt that these changes are covered by § 5 is resolved by the construction placed upon the Act by the Attorney General, which is entitled to considerable deference"); Perkins v. Matthews, supra, at 390-391 ("Our conclusion that both the location of the polling places and municipal boundary changes come
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