Guy at Colored Demos:

Second, the fact that the conservative justices would have granted the stay (Justice Thomas in toto, the others everything but the preregistration), tells us a lot about the strength of the application for stay by petitioners (and the strength of the ideological divide on these issues).  The application for stay was very strong and obviously attractive to the conservative Justices, presumably the applicant’s primary target.  The application was addressed to the soft spot in the lower court opinion, including the Fourth Circuit’s understanding of intentional discrimination and the manner in which the Fourth Circuit’s analysis limited the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County.

Query whether this is the right way to craft a petition when you need to count to 5.