Amendment XXIV · Later Amendment
Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Poll taxes banned in federal elections
About 10 min total: 5 min reading + 5 min for its 5 practice questions
No poll tax may be required to vote in federal elections.
- Proposed by Congress
- August 27, 1962
- Ratified
- January 23, 1964
- Group
- Later Amendment
The text
Section 1.
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.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
What it means
- No one may be denied the vote in federal elections (President, Vice President, electors, Congress) for failing to pay a poll tax or other tax.
- Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) later banned poll taxes in state elections under the Equal Protection Clause.
Who proposed it
Senator Spessard L. Holland of Florida, a longtime opponent of poll taxes, sponsored S.J. Res. 29, which the Senate passed March 27, 1962. The House approved it August 27, 1962.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: August 27, 1962. Senate March 27, House August 27, 1962 (the date the National Archives uses). Constitution Annotated gives September 14, 1962.
- Ratified: January 23, 1964. South Dakota was the 38th state. Certified February 4, 1964.
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
A poll tax is a fee to vote. Several Southern states used it, along with literacy tests, to keep Black voters and poor white voters from the polls. By 1962 only five states still charged one.
Key Supreme Court cases
- Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966): extended the ban to state elections
FCLE tips
- 24th covers federal elections; Harper extended the rule to state elections.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 24th: poll tax | 15th: race; 19th: sex; 26th: age |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).