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第24項憲法修正案廢除了人頭稅 (Poll
Tax) ：1964年1月23日
許多南方州在1800年代末期還繼續徵收人頭稅。這也代表雖然第15項憲法修正案賦予過去的奴隸有投票的權利，但是許多貧窮的人民，不管是黑人或白人，也還是沒有足夠的錢能夠投票。
「你知道在我的一生中，因為人頭稅的緣故，我都無法行使我的公民權利？」喬治亞州亞特蘭大市楚特先生 (Mr.
Trout) 在接受美國生活歷史 (American
Life Histories) 派克先生 (Mr.
Pike) 訪問時做了如上的回答。
在楚特先生說了這些話的20年後，人頭稅終於被廢除了。在第24項憲法修正案的通過典禮上，林登‧詹森 (Lydon
Johnson) 總統指出：「絕對不能有人因為太窮而無法投票。」因為這項修正案的通過，所有美國公民的自由投票權利才能得到確保。
Many Southern states adopted a poll tax in the late 1800s. This meant that even though the 15th Amendment gave former slaves the right to vote, many poor people, both blacks and whites, did not have enough money to vote.
"Do you know I've never voted in my life, never been able to exercise my right as a citizen because of the poll tax?"
"Mr. Trout" to Mr. Pike, interviewer, Atlanta, Georgia. American Life Histories, 1936 - 1940.
More than 20 years after "Mr. Trout" spoke those words, the poll tax was abolished. At the ceremony in 1964 formalizing the 24th Amendment, President Lyndon Johnson noted that: "There can be no one too poor to vote." Thanks to the 24th Amendment, the right of all U.S. citizens to freely cast their votes has been secured.
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