The Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear a case on the constitutionality the Voting Rights Act provision that requires lawmakers in 16 states with a history of discrimination at the polls to obtain federal approval before altering state election laws.

The appeal stems from Shelby Count, Ala., about 23 miles southeast of Birmingham, where local and state government officials say the Voting Rights Act is outdated and that they’ve made progress since its inception in 1965, The Associated Press reported Friday.

The case will most likely make its way to court in February with a ruling expected in late June, according to the AP.

The law had overwhelming bipartisan support when it passed in 2006 by a 390-33 majority in the House and 98-0 in the Senate, despite some grumblings from lawmakers in some of the states affected by it.

Then-President George W. Bush not only supported the act’s renewal — he invited the Congressional Black Caucus and bipartisan supporters from both chambers of Congress to the Rose Garden when he signed a 25-year extension of it.

But the Supreme Court signaled it might be outdated when in 2009 it heard a Texas case against the law. Though instead of ruling on its constitutionality, the high court opted to make it easier for local governments to seek exemptions from it, Bloomberg News reported.

Still, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the law’s days may be numbered: “In part due to the success of that legislation, we are now a very different Nation. Whether conditions continue to justify such legislation is a difficult constitutional question we do not answer today.”

Critics of the law say it’s unneeded, outdated and another example of too much overreaching federal government oversight. Backers say it’s needed to protect minority voters from discriminatory voter laws.

Th impacted states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia; and certain parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, according to the AP. In addition to Alabama, five other states are backing Shelby County’s appeal: Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas, the wire service said.