Rulings to come Wednesday on Prop. 8, DOMA

(06-25) 07:59 PDT WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court did not rule Tuesday on Proposition 8, the 2008 California initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state, but signaled that the decision will come Wednesday.

The justices also did not issue their decision on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars gay and lesbian married couples from receiving the same federal benefits as opposite-sex spouses. They indicated, however, that the decision in that case also will come Wednesday, saying all remaining opinions from the court's annual term would be issued then.

The justices did release a significant decision in another case Tuesday, overturning a requirement under the Voting Rights Act that states and localities with a history of discrimination clear changes in election laws with the federal government.

In addition to several Southern states and Alaska, the requirement applied in California to Monterey, Yuba and Kings counties.

The court ruled 5-4 in a decision split along conservative-liberal lines: The majority consisted of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito, while Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan dissented.