Check understanding in invalidating preclearance provisions, what larger point was the supreme court making about voting rights?

The Supreme Court was affirming the point that states (not the federal government) should be in charge of the voting procedures in their states.

The Supreme Court decision you're referring to, which invalidated pre-clearance conditions, was Shelby County v. Holder (2013).  "Pre-clearance" meant that certain states, according to the Voting Rights Acts of 1965, had to get approval in advance from federal authorities for any changes they made to their state regulations regarding voting.  That standard had been applied to several states because they had displayed discriminatory practice in their voting laws.  The decision in Shelby County v. Holder held that the federal government could not keep applying that requirement on the basis of decades-old data.

I recently posted another answer on Shelby County v. Holder, which you can check out too.  Read more on -