poll tax
a capitation tax, the payment of which is sometimes a prerequisite to exercise the right of suffrage.
Origin of poll tax
1- Also called head tax.
Words Nearby poll tax
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use poll tax in a sentence
The state appealed the ruling, and a federal appeals court ruled that, although it wasn’t a poll tax, it did have a “discriminatory effect.”
Ted Cruz makes a Texas-size mess on voter ID and racism | Aaron Blake | September 23, 2021 | Washington PostOne of the most effective measures, the poll tax, began in Georgia in 1871.
Lyndon Johnson’s vision for voting rights offers a blueprint for protecting them | Kyle Longley | April 8, 2021 | Washington PostThe poll tax was $18 in total, which is equivalent to about $260 in 2020.
Before She Refused to Give Up Her Seat, Rosa Parks Had a Long History as a Voting Rights Activist | Olivia B. Waxman | February 1, 2021 | TimeI vote because I still remember that my parents & grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins & neighbors had to pay a poll tax in order to vote in AL, my home state.
'I Vote Because': Americans Are Sharing Stories of How Their Ancestors Overcame Discrimination in Order to Vote | Olivia B. Waxman | November 4, 2020 | TimePerhaps the origin of voter ID equals poll tax/racism theme may be placed at the doorstep of Eric Holder.
The Real Voter-ID Fraud? Look Closely at North Carolina | Ron Christie | February 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
An ID card to vote would be a poll tax if it was at all costly or difficult for some to acquire.
Poll Results: Despite its Flaws, Readers Support the National ID | Ryan Prior | March 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAm I going to get a "knock on the door" asking me to explain how Fidel's proletarian paradise knew so much about the poll tax?
Since many of the Readjuster party members consisted of Negroes, the poll tax was repealed also.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyIn 1876, a law was passed which required the payment of a poll tax before voting in the state of Virginia.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyOne of the first effects of this amendment in Virginia was a legislative enactment requiring all women to pay the poll tax.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyOn the other hand, several attempts have been made to repeal the general poll tax.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyHer descendants have been exempted from the taille (poll tax)—a mean and shameful recompense!
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
British Dictionary definitions for poll tax
a tax levied per head of adult population
an informal name for (the former) community charge
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for poll tax
A tax required as a qualification for voting. After the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution extended the vote to blacks in 1870, many southern states instituted poll taxes to prevent blacks from voting. The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1964, prohibits poll taxes for federal elections.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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