Supreme Court strikes down state poll taxes in Harper

The Supreme Court rules in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections on March 24, 1966, that states cannot require voters to pay a poll tax in state elections. Virginia had used the tax as a voting requirement. The Court holds that wealth or payment of a fee has no place in judging a voter's qualifications. The decision follows the Twenty-fourth Amendment, which had banned poll taxes in federal elections. The ruling removes a major Jim Crow voting barrier that had been used to suppress Black voters and poor voters.