poll tax

A poll tax is a tax levied on everyone equally, regardless of income. While historically, poll taxes have been used as a barrier to exercising certain civil rights, such as voting, the term poll tax originally had nothing to do with voting. “Poll” is an archaic term for "head," so poll tax literally means head tax, or a tax on the heads of households. “Poll” in the context of poll taxes is often confused with voting polls; however, the association with voting developed after the term first came about. See: Wittemyer v. City of Portland, 402 P.3d 702 (2017).

In the United States, poll taxes began as a revenue-generating tool for states. Later, during the Jim Crow Era, poll taxes were frequently instituted as a barrier to prevent minorities from voting. Those who could not pay the tax were disenfranchised and stripped of their right to vote. Poll taxes can be discriminatory because they are regressive in nature, meaning that they are proportionally more burdensome to people who have fewer resources. At the time, states justified their use of poll taxes by claiming that a tax caused people to be more invested in the election; and therefore, the tax was necessary because an invested voting populace was essential for a fair election.

Passed in 1964, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections. The passage of the amendment reflected the growing acceptance of the idea that poll taxes were not just a revenue-generating tool but instead were barriers to participation in elections. Virginia, in anticipation of the passage of the amendment, passed a law that allowed potential voters to either pay a poll tax or fill out burdensome residency certificates. The law was challenged in court and ultimately culminated in the Supreme Court case Harman v. Forssenius, 380 U.S. 528 (1965), which struck down the law as an attempt to get around the spirit of the amendment because the law created a significant barrier for those who wished to exert their constitutional right not to pay a poll tax. Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966), went further to protect voting rights by expanding protections beyond federal elections. The Supreme Court ruled that the poll taxes were unconstitutional at the state level under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Generally, direct fees as a precondition for voting are not allowed, but incidental costs such as voter ID requirements or payments for postage to return mail-in ballots are permissible. Yet still, challenges remain on whether fees or ID requirements present unconstitutional, undue burdens on disadvantaged voters, especially when the state fails to provide adequate free alternatives.

[Last reviewed in April of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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