States Promise Quick Action After Voting Ruling

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican officials across the South promise swift action in response to a Supreme Court ruling that invalidates a key part of the Voting Rights Act.

Officials in Texas and Mississippi pledged to immediately implement laws requiring voters to show photo identification before getting a ballot.

North Carolina Republicans promised they'd quickly try to adopt a similar law. Florida now appears free to set its early voting hours however it pleases. And Georgia's most populous county likely will use county commission districts that Republican state legislators drew over the objections of local Democrats.

Officials in those states no longer have to submit election law changes for federal approval. Congress could resurrect the "preclearance" requirement with new rules, but for now, the 5-4 decision represents a major change across the South.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.