The Supreme Court on Thursday paused a lower court ruling limiting the ability of private individuals to bring lawsuits over potential violations of the Voting Rights Act. The case could be heard by the justices on the merits in the coming term.

The lower-court ruling barred individuals in seven states from bringing lawsuits claiming racial discrimination under the landmark law.

The Supreme Court has blocked a lower-court ruling in a redistricting dispute in North Dakota that would gut a landmark federal civil rights law for millions of people.