52 USC § 10504 - Judicial relief; civil actions by the Attorney General; three-judge district court; appeal to Supreme Court

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t52/s10504"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "52 USC § 10504 - Judicial relief; civil actions by the Attorney General; three-judge district court; appeal to Supreme Court"
title_number: 52
title_name: "VOTING AND ELECTIONS"
section_number: "10504"
section_name: "Judicial relief; civil actions by the Attorney General; three-judge district court; appeal to Supreme Court"
chapter_number: 105
chapter_name: "SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 89–110, title II, § 204, formerly § 203, as added Pub. L. 91–285, § 6, June 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 317; renumbered § 204 and amended Pub. L. 94–73, title III, §§ 302, 303, title IV, § 406, Aug. 6, 1975, 89 Stat. 403, 405.)"
---


# 1 Judicial relief; civil actions by the Attorney General; three-judge district court; appeal to Supreme Court

See References in Text note below.

section 10501 of this title[^1]section 2284 of title 28

Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a State or political subdivision (a) has enacted or is seeking to administer any test or device as a prerequisite to voting in violation of the prohibition contained in , or (b) undertakes to deny the right to vote in any election in violation of section 10502 or 10503 of this title, he may institute for the United States, or in the name of the United States, an action in a district court of the United States, in accordance with sections 1391 through 1393  of title 28, for a restraining order, a preliminary or permanent injunction, or such other order as he deems appropriate. An action under this subsection shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of  and any appeal shall be to the Supreme Court.

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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 89–110, title II, § 204, formerly § 203, as added Pub. L. 91–285, § 6, June 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 317; renumbered § 204 and amended Pub. L. 94–73, title III, §§ 302, 303, title IV, § 406, Aug. 6, 1975, 89 Stat. 403, 405.)

## Editorial Notes

### References in Text

, referred to in text, was repealed by , , .

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to , The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. Some section numbers referenced in amendment notes below reflect the classification of such sections prior to their editorial reclassification to this title.

### Amendments

1975— inserted reference to  and substituted reference to  for reference to .