24th Amendment
The amendment was one of the last legal vestiges of segregation that tried to keep the black population and the poor people from participating in the vote. As today, the 24th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that no person can be denied the right to vote due to an inability to pay a tax prior to voting. The “poll tax” is now considered unconstitutional. The poll tax was levied on an individual used as a prerequisite for voting. Poll taxes are the same for all persons subject to them, regardless of their income, property or other taxes paid.It was grateful that this amendment is in the constitution.
It was needed because the poll tax was keeping certain individuals from voting because of their income and/or their race, and that is unconstitutional according to the Fourteenth Amendment. It is so ridiculous to have to pay to vote for something especially when you are voting to see who is going to run your own country. Voting is one of the many rights of every American citizen and as long as you are an American citizen you should be able to vote without paying. This amendment is a step forward in equal rights and you can really see that today.Without the Twenty-fourth Amendment the Americans citizen cannot vote regardless of his or her race or financial status. Therefore, we need to thanks for this amendment. As today, every American citizen is allowed to vote as long as he/or she are eighteen and registered.
I do not think that this amendment could go much further. I think it has gone as far as it cans because nobody has had to pay to vote for an election since. I am a USA citizen and I did not realize that in the old days the poll tax was based on racism and that you could be barred from voting because you did not pay taxes.I have read articles on men and women that have never been able to vote until this amendment was passed because they were poor and could not afford it. Some people were in their forties before they could vote and it would not surprise me if there were people that had not been able to vote until they were much older or someone who never have a chance to vote at all. I think today the younger population is taking advantage of being able to vote at eighteen and not having to pay a tax to do so.Hopefully with time my generation will see the importance of voting and will do so in the future.
It is a great honor and privilege to vote and to have the freedom to voice your opinion in a free election. every four years we have a mini revolution where the powers of the white house are either changed or stayed the same without a single shot being fired, without a single life being sacrificed, without races, religion, ethnic background, political stance and social status being road blocks to keep us from voting backed by the Constitution and this amendment.In conclusion, it is a shame that so many people do not realize the value of voting. It’s sad that they do not exercise their right to vote. Just imagine that we still have the poll tax, I believe that we would be right where we are today. On the other hand, I know that the poll tax to me was unconstitutional and that no matter what, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment was a must to bring American civilization together. In some way, that makes us all equal.
This is what this country has been trying to do for a long time.