Poll Taxes Banned: 24th Amendment Secures Voting Rights
Poll taxes had been the most effective tool for keeping Black voters and poor white voters away from federal elections across the American South. The fees were cumulative in some states, meaning voters had to pay back taxes for every year they had failed to vote, creating an insurmountable financial barrier. The 24th Amendment, ratified on January 23, 1964, eliminated this requirement for all federal elections. The amendment was proposed in 1962 after years of failed legislative attempts to abolish poll taxes by statute. Southern senators had filibustered every previous effort. An amendment required two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states, a higher bar but one immune to filibuster. The amendment did not cover state and local elections, a gap that was not closed until the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia in 1966 that all poll taxes violated the Equal Protection Clause.
January 23, 1964
62 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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