 Consider the following example of vote dilution. In many counties in the South, whites were in the overall majority but blacks were a majority in certain parts of the county. The counties had been traditionally divided into districts, with each district electing a member of the county board. First-generation discrimination ensured all-white boards by blocking black registration in majority-black districts. When first-generation devices were invalidated as a result of the VRA, many southern counties switched from a district-based system to at-large voting, so that the white majority in the county as a whole could continue to elect an all-white board. The Supreme Court held that such changes were subject to a preclearance review by federal authorities, who were empowered to prohibit the changes (Allen v. State Board of Elections 1969). And treating dilution as a form of racial discrimination, in 1982, Congress amended section 2 to prohibit any electoral rule or arrangement that “results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color … . [or being] a member of a language minority group” (52 U.S.C. 10301 and 10303).