Cite as: 594 U. S. ____ (2021) 15 Opinion of the Court The key requirement is that the political processes leading to nomination and election (here, the process of voting) must be “equally open” to minority and non-minority groups alike, and the most relevant definition of the term “open,” as used in §2(b), is “without restrictions as to who may participate,” Random House Dictionary of the English Language 1008 (J. Stein ed. 1966), or “requiring no special status, identification, or permit for entry or participation,” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1579 (1976). What §2(b) means by voting that is not “equally open” is further explained by this language: “in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.” The phrase “in that” is “used to specify the respect in which a statement is true.” 10 Thus, equal openness and equal opportunity are not separate requirements. Instead, equal opportunity helps to explain the meaning of equal openness. And the term “opportunity” means, among other things, “a combination of circumstances, time, and place suitable or favorable for a particular activity or action.” Id., at 1583; see also Random House Dictionary of the English Language, at 1010 (“an appropriate or favorable time or occasion,” “a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal”). Putting these terms together, it appears that the core of §2(b) is the requirement that voting be “equally open.” The statute’s reference to equal “opportunity” may stretch that concept to some degree to include consideration of a person’s ability to use the means that are equally open. But equal openness remains the touchstone. —————— 10 The New Oxford American Dictionary 851 (2d ed. 2005); see 7 Oxford English Dictionary 763 (2d ed. 1989) (“in presence, view, or consequence of the fact that”); Webster’s New International Dictionary 1253 (2d ed. 1934) (“Because; for the reason that”).