Which of the following describes the relation between the 15th Amendment and poll taxes?

• A. The 15th Amendment explicitly banned poll taxes nationwide.
• B. Poll taxes were used to restrict African American voting despite the 15th Amendment.
• C. Poll taxes were intended to enhance voter turnout.
• D. Poll taxes applied only to non-citizens.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that constitutional protections can be undermined by practical barriers. The 15th Amendment prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude. Yet poll taxes imposed a fee to vote, which many African Americans and other low-income citizens could not afford. That financial barrier made it effectively impossible for them to cast ballots, so the right was hindered in practice even though the amendment’s text prohibited race-based exclusion. In other words, poll taxes were a tool for restricting Black voting despite the spirit of the amendment.

It’s not that the amendment specifically banned poll taxes, or that poll taxes were meant to boost turnout. They targeted access to voting and were used to suppress participation, not enhance it. And they weren’t limited to non-citizens; poll taxes affected citizens as well, with African Americans in particular bearing the brunt in many Southern states.