1. Abolition of Poll Taxes
The 24th Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.”
At the time of ratification in 1964, five states still had the tax requirement for voting: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
Although passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments helped remove many of the discriminatory laws left over from slavery, they did not eliminate all forms of discrimination.
The 24th Amendment, ratified on January 23, 1964, was passed to address one particular injustice that prevented numerous citizens from voting – the poll tax, that is, a state fee on voting.
Along with literacy tests and durational residency requirements, poll taxes were used to keep low-income (primarily African American) citizens from participating in elections.
The Supreme Court has since struck down these discriminatory measures, opening democratic participation to all, regardless of one’s ability to pay.