The Poll Tax / by kevin murray

Most people do not know what the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution stipulates, but in short, in 1964 when it was ratified, it basically stipulated that in national elections voting: "… shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax."  It then took a Supreme Court decision in 1966 to eliminate the poll tax in State elections, so that since 1966 poll taxes are no longer valid or legal in any State of this union.

 

As for a poll tax, it's name pretty much sums up what it is, a form of taxation or fee that has to be paid in order for a voter to be able to legally vote at the polling booth and those that did not pay such a tax, would therefore not be permitted to vote.  The purpose of the poll tax, not too surprisingly, was to take away the vote from the disenfranchised and poor, so as to tip the scales of justice to those that had the means to create their own form of justice favoring those of a certain class, race, and/or creed.  The poll tax was quite effective in its discrimination, as indigent people simply didn't have the monetary means to vote and often simply gave up trying to fight the system.   

 

While the poll tax as it was has now been placed into the dustbin of history, it has somewhat been resurrected by identification laws that certain State legislatures have passed over the ensuing years, so depending upon the State of your residence, in order for you to vote in a given election, you must present some form on legal government issued ID, such as your driver's license.  It would seem that, offhand, the presentation of proper ID to vote appears to be a reasonable request to make, but that isn't necessarily so.  For instance, for a well established person, having proper ID on hand is almost a given, however, there is a substantial part of America to which that isn't necessarily so, for a variety of reasons, yet they are of age, entitled to vote, and in fact, voting is their Constitutional right.

 

At a polling booth, in order to vote, you have to be able to identify yourself, which historically has meant identifying yourself verbally through your full name, address of voting registration, and possibly also your date of birth, all of this for the benefit of the official at the polling booth so as to verify this information against their records and thereby check your name off of the voting rolls for that election.   While it might be convenient to present one's ID in order to confirm or to establish identity, it should not be the law to do so, as that ID has previously been established by virtue of the fact that your name is on the voting roll.  This means, that a verbal declaration of who you are, to which that information is consistent with the information at the voting booth, should be sufficient to allow you, your right to vote. 

 

In short, whether you jogged to the voting booth, drove, walked, dropped by, got dropped off, or whatever, you should be able to wait your turn in line, properly identify yourself, and then vote.  Those that insist upon proper government issued ID in order to vote, are deliberately creating barriers to entry, much like the poll tax of old, to keep undesirables at bay, in their place, and left behind.