 The by-law had not only been superseded by the 1988 Fair Campaign Practices Act but had not been followed by any candidate running for any office since 1988, including candidates for governor.It also emerged that the by-law was in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and may well actually have been repealed.Following sustained pressure and newspaper editorials criticising the judgement, the State Democratic Executive Committee voted on 26 August to overturn the sub-committee's ruling by a vote of 95–87.