Commentary: Poll Tax, 21st Century Version

Summary

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Whereas the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, guaranteed African- Americans the right to vote, in practice few could in the south. The states there created a series of voting qualifications and devices, such as the poll tax and the literacy test, that perpetuated black disenfranchisement. When the courts invalidated one device, the states created another or just ignored the decisions.

Finally Congress intervened, adopting the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1965. It forbids nationwide all electoral practices "which result in a denial or abridgement of the right ... to vote on account of race or color," 42 U.S.C. [section] 1973.

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Extract

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Commentary: Poll Tax, 21st Century Version

Note that proof of a discriminatory purpose is not necessary. A plaintiff need only show that the practice has the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color. This is ...

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