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Voting & Elections
Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
Decided: 1966
In brief
Struck down poll taxes in state elections as violating equal protection.
The Court's ruling in depth
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964) had barred poll taxes in federal elections. Harper extended the ban to state elections under the Equal Protection Clause: wealth 'is not germane' to voter qualifications, and 'lines drawn on the basis of wealth or property ... are traditionally disfavored.'