#OnThisDay in 1962, the 24th Amendment, which prohibited the use or a poll tax as a condition for voting in federal elections, was passed by Congress. #SystemicRacism
The amendment was passed by Congress (proposed) to the states on August 27, 1962, and ratified on January 23, 1964.
“After nearly disappearing in the states, a repurposed poll tax returned as part of a successful effort to undermine the Fifteenth Amendment and reestablish limits on the franchise. Beginning in Florida in 1889, all the former Confederate States, and a few others, instituted a suite of changes to voting laws as a part of this effort. They introduced literacy tests and disqualified convicted felons from voting. They also resurrected poll taxes. The historical record is filled with racially derogatory statements from delegates at State constitutional conventions who believed poll taxes and other devices would suppress Black voter registration and turnout.”
“The Supreme Court repeatedly affirmed the constitutionality of poll taxes. In its 1937 opinion in Breedlove v. Suttles, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a claim from a white Georgia voter that the poll tax violated the Equal Protection Clause. In 1951, it rejected a similar claim challenging Virginia’s poll tax in Butler v. Thompson.” -- Constitution Center #CheckAndBalances #3Branches
Resources:
-- Constitution Center: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxiv
-- National Archive: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27
-- US House: https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/37045
-- Breedlove v. Suttles: https://perma.cc/6G6H-6U4T
-- Butler v. Thompson: https://perma.cc/V4JP-TYHY