The Justice Department has unveiled plans to restore some of the oversight struck down in last month’s Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act. Speaking to the National Urban League’s annual conference in Philadelphia, Attorney General Eric Holder said he will ask a federal court to require that Texas obtain federal approval for all changes to its voting laws.

Eric Holder: “This request to 'bail in' the state of Texas and to require it to obtain pre-approval from either the department or a federal court before implementing future voting changes is available under the Voting Rights Act when intentional voting discrimination is found. Based on the evidence of intentional racial discrimination that was presented just last year in the redistricting case of Texas v. Holder, as well as the history of pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities that the Supreme Court itself has recognized, we believe that the state of Texas should be required to go through a preclearance process whenever it changes its voting laws and practices.”

A federal court last year ruled the Republican-controlled statehouse in Texas discriminated against people of color in its redrawing of political maps for congressional and legislative districts ahead of the 2012 election. Holder’s announcement marks the Obama administration’s first policy move since the Supreme Court invalidated a critical portion of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that required nine states with a history of racial discrimination to obtain federal approval for changes to voting rules. Holder says more actions will be announced in the coming weeks, including challenges to voter ID laws nationwide.