 The constitutionality of the key provisions of the VRA was challenged by the states that fell under the formula, but the Supreme Court upheld the law in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966). The act was then reauthorized several times with some alterations. The alterations sought to strengthen protections against what were called “second- generation” barriers to racial equality in the electoral process. The first generation had included literacy tests and the other devices that were applied in discriminatory fashion to block blacks from registering. The second generation consisted of various ways that the political power of registered minority voters was diluted by electoral arrangements. 