Which 1966 decision extended the ban on poll taxes to state elections?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
• C. Roe v. Wade
• D. Marbury v. Madison

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that voting cannot be conditioned on wealth. The ruling holds that requiring a poll tax to vote in state elections, even though federal elections were already barred by the 24th Amendment, still blocks equal access to the ballot. By applying the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to state elections, the Court said a tax that one must pay to vote effectively targets people by their economic status and thus denies a fundamental right to those who can’t afford it. In short, poll taxes in state elections are unconstitutional because they create an unconstitutional wealth-based barrier to the franchise, violating equal protection. Other listed cases tackle desegregation, abortion, or early judicial authority, not voting rights or wealth-based restrictions on the ballot.