Amendment 24: Outlawing Poll Taxes And Protecting Voting Rights

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1964, prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress in 1962 and marked a significant shift in voting rights in America, as it effectively overruled the 1937 Supreme Court decision in Breedlove v. Suttles, which upheld the constitutionality of poll taxes. The 24th Amendment was adopted in response to policies enacted in Southern states aimed at limiting the political participation of African Americans and poor whites, and it played a crucial role in expanding voting rights and protecting vulnerable groups' right to vote.

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Poll tax as a requirement for voting

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress to the states on 27 August 1962 and was ratified on 23 January 1964.

The poll tax was adopted as a requirement for voting by Southern states in the late 19th century as part of a series of laws intended to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. Although the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited voting discrimination based on race, many Southern states enacted laws to make it difficult for African Americans to vote. The poll tax was one such law, requiring all voters to pay a tax, which disproportionately affected poor citizens, including both African Americans and poor white voters.

The use of poll taxes by states was deemed constitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1937 in the case of Breedlove v. Suttles. This decision bolstered the adoption of poll taxes in Southern states, with eleven former Confederate states enacting such laws by 1902. However, the 24th Amendment overruled this decision, prohibiting the use of poll taxes as a voting requirement in federal elections.

Despite the ratification of the 24th Amendment, some states continued to retain poll taxes. In 1966, the US Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes were unconstitutional even for state elections. This decision marked a shift in thinking, with the Court seeking to protect the voting rights of vulnerable groups. Arkansas was the only state out of the five originally affected by the 24th Amendment to repeal its poll tax in 1964, with the remaining four states' poll taxes struck down by the Supreme Court decision in 1966.

Poll tax's constitutionality

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress to the states on August 27, 1962, and was ratified on January 23, 1964.

The 24th Amendment effectively overruled the 1937 Supreme Court decision in Breedlove v. Suttles, which held that poll taxes were constitutional. Southern states had adopted the poll tax as a requirement for voting in the late 19th century to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. This requirement had a disproportionate impact on African Americans and poor whites, effectively disenfranchising them. The passage of poll taxes in the 1890s was driven by Democrats who wanted to prevent another Populist-Republican coalition, as African Americans often voted with Populist and Fusionist candidates.

Despite the 24th Amendment, several states initially maintained their poll taxes in defiance of the new law. These remaining poll taxes were finally eliminated after the 1966 Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, which ruled that poll taxes in all elections—federal, state, and local—were unconstitutional. This ruling affirmed the protections of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

The 24th Amendment was a significant milestone in the pursuit of civil rights during the turbulent 1960s, coinciding with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which together ended legal segregation and racial discrimination in voting.

Poll tax abolition

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibited the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes as a requirement for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and ratified in 1964.

The poll tax was adopted in the late 19th century by Southern states as part of a series of laws intended to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. Although the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited voting discrimination based on race, the poll tax served as a loophole, as it affected all voters but disproportionately impacted African Americans and poor whites. The tax prevented many from voting due to their economic status, and its purpose was to suppress Black and poor white voter turnout.

The 24th Amendment abolished the poll tax at the federal level, ensuring that citizens could not be denied the right to vote in federal elections due to their inability to pay. This marked a significant shift in voting rights in America, as it directly challenged the long-standing practice of states imposing various restrictions on voting eligibility, such as poll taxes or literacy tests. The amendment also set a precedent for protecting the voting rights of vulnerable groups and removing legislative barriers designed to disenfranchise certain voters.

However, the 24th Amendment only applied to federal elections, and some states continued to impose poll taxes for state elections. In response, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorised the US Attorney General to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections. The Act enforced the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee of voting without racial discrimination and required "covered jurisdictions," mainly Southern states, to obtain pre-clearance before enacting new voting rights laws.

Despite the progress made by the 24th Amendment, it took further legal challenges and Supreme Court rulings, such as Harper v. Virginia Board of Electors in 1966, to fully abolish poll taxes in state elections. This ruling extended the prohibition of poll taxes to state elections and struck down the remaining poll tax laws in the four states that had retained them: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

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Voting rights protection

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other form of taxation as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress in 1962 and ratified in 1964, marking a significant step towards protecting voting rights in the country.

Prior to the 24th Amendment, Southern states had adopted poll taxes as a voting requirement, which disproportionately impacted African Americans and poor whites, effectively disenfranchising them. The amendment overruled the 1937 Supreme Court decision in Breedlove v. Suttles, which had upheld the constitutionality of poll taxes.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further strengthened voting rights protections by granting the US Attorney General the authority to challenge the use of poll taxes and other discriminatory voting practices in state and local elections. This Act ensured that voting rights would not be denied or abridged based on race, colour, or previous conditions of servitude, as guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment.

Despite these advancements, voting rights remain under threat. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of voter suppression tactics, including additional obstacles to registration and dilution of minority voting rights. Organisations like the ACLU are actively working to defend and expand voting rights, particularly in communities of colour, where access to the franchise has been increasingly restricted.

Fifteenth Amendment guarantee

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibited both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was ratified in 1964, by which time five states—Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, and Mississippi—still retained a poll tax.

The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude". It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and final Reconstruction Amendment.

The Fifteenth Amendment was enacted in the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed. During this period, Congress repeatedly debated the rights of millions of black freedmen. Amendments had been passed to abolish slavery and provide citizenship and equal protection under the laws, but the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black male voters was important for the party's future.

The Fifteenth Amendment was a compromise amendment, proposed on February 26, 1869, which would ban franchise restrictions based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. However, it did not address sex discrimination in voter laws.

In the late nineteenth century, the United States Supreme Court interpreted the amendment narrowly, and from 1890 to 1910, the Democratic Party in the Southern United States adopted new state constitutions and enacted "Jim Crow" laws that raised barriers to voter registration. This resulted in most black voters, and many poor whites, being disenfranchised by poll taxes and literacy tests.

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee of voting without racial discrimination. The Act gave the US Attorney General the authority to "challenge the authority of poll taxes in state and local elections".

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