The justices paused a lower court order pending a decision on whether the Supreme Court will take up the case, a major challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court on Thursday 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. The justices indicated in an unsigned order that they are likely to take up a federal appeals court ruling that would eliminate the most common path people and civil rights groups use to sue under a key provision of the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act.

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