Which amendment banned poll taxes in elections?

Which amendment banned poll taxes in elections?

• A. Twenty-second Amendment (1951)
• B. Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)
• C. Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
• D. Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)

Answer: (B)

Poll taxes were used to bar many voters from participating, especially African Americans and poorer citizens in the South. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, prohibits requiring payment of any tax as a condition for voting in federal elections, removing that financial hurdle at the federal level. This change was part of the broader Civil Rights Movement push to expand voting rights, a goal later extended to state elections as well. The other amendments listed do not address voting barriers like poll taxes: one limits presidential terms, another guarantees women's suffrage, and another lowers the voting age. So the amendment that directly bans poll taxes is the Twenty-Fourth Amendment.

Poll taxes were used to bar many voters from participating, especially African Americans and poorer citizens in the South. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, prohibits requiring payment of any tax as a condition for voting in federal elections, removing that financial hurdle at the federal level. This change was part of the broader Civil Rights Movement push to expand voting rights, a goal later extended to state elections as well. The other amendments listed do not address voting barriers like poll taxes: one limits presidential terms, another guarantees women's suffrage, and another lowers the voting age. So the amendment that directly bans poll taxes is the Twenty-Fourth Amendment.