24 март 1966 г. - Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections

Описание:

A case in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that Virginia's poll tax was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eleven southern states established poll taxes in part to disenfranchise most blacks and consequently many poor whites as well. The Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964) prohibited poll taxes in FEDERAL elections; five states (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia) continued to require poll taxes for voters in state elections. By this ruling, the Supreme Court banned the use of poll taxes in state elections as well.

The case was filed by Virginia resident Annie E. Harper, who was unable to register without having to pay a poll tax. She brought the suit against the Virginia State Board of Elections on behalf of other poor residents and herself. Harper had previously argued the case before a U.S. district court on October 21, 1964, where it was consolidated with a similar case filed by Evelyn Thomas Butts (Butts v. Harrison, Governor of Virginia) and argued under the name Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections. In the initial case lawyers for Harper and Butts argued against the constitutionality of the poll tax, but on November 12 the courts dismissed the case, citing 1930s precedents (Breedlove v. Suttles) established by the United States Supreme Court. Harper quickly appealed this decision to the Supreme Court and the two cases were argued together during late January 1966.

In a 6 to 3 vote, the Court ruled in favor of Ms. Harper. The Court noted that "a state violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution whenever it makes the affluence of the voter or payment of any fee an electoral standard. Voter qualifications have no relation to wealth."

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