Question

In Mr. R's class, you forgot to vote and explained that it was due to the inability to afford the poll tax. Which amendment would Mr. R cite before writing a referral for lying to a teacher?

a) 15
b) 19
c) 24
d) 26

Answer 1

Mr. R would cite the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which abolished the use of poll taxes in federal elections, before writing a referral for lying to a teacher.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context provided, Mr. R would reference the Twenty-Fourth Amendment before writing a referral for lying to a teacher. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, explicitly abolished the use of poll taxes in federal elections.

Previously, some states employed poll taxes to disenfranchise poor African American voters, effectively circumventing the Fifteenth Amendment, which guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race. However, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment eliminated the financial barrier to voting in federal elections by prohibiting this practice.

After the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, a significant court ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections in 1966 extended this prohibition to state elections as well, declaring that poll taxes at any level were unconstitutional.