What is the 24th Amendment

• Steven Topazio wrote this November 5, 2024 at 4:27 pm

The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1964, prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections. Poll taxes were fees that voters had to pay in order to cast a ballot, which effectively disenfranchised many low-income individuals, particularly African Americans in the South, where the tax was often used as a tool of voter suppression.

By banning poll taxes, the twenty-fourth amendment aimed to ensure that the right to vote in federal elections (for president, vice president, and Congress) could not be restricted based on a person’s financial status.