Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections |
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| Argued January 25–26, 1966 Decided March 24, 1966 |
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| Full case name | Annie E. Harper, et al. v. Virginia State Board of Elections, et al. |
| Citations | 383 U.S. 663 (more)
86 S. Ct. 1079; 16 L. Ed. 2d 169; 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2905
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| Prior history | 240 F. Supp. 270 (E.D. Va. 1964); probable jurisdiction noted, 380 U.S. 930 (1965). |
| Holding | |
| Laws which specify payment requirements to vote in elections violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Douglas, joined by Warren, Clark, Brennan, White, Fortas |
| Dissent | Black |
| Dissent | Harlan, joined by Stewart |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV | |
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This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings
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| Breedlove v. Suttles (1937) | |
Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections was an important case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. The Court ruled that a "poll tax" in Virginia was against the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A poll tax was a fee people had to pay to vote. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many southern states used these taxes. They made it harder for many poor people, especially African Americans, to vote.
In 1964, the 24th Amendment made poll taxes illegal for federal elections (like voting for President). But five states still had them for state elections. The Harper ruling made poll taxes illegal for all elections, both state and federal.
Why This Case Happened
The case started because a woman named Annie E. Harper lived in Virginia. She could not register to vote because she could not pay the poll tax. She decided to challenge this law.
Ms. Harper filed a lawsuit against the Virginia State Board of Elections. She did this for herself and other poor people in Virginia. Her case was first heard in a U.S. district court in 1964. It was combined with a similar case from Evelyn Thomas Butts.
Lawyers for Harper and Butts argued that the poll tax was unconstitutional. However, the court disagreed. They said that earlier Supreme Court decisions from the 1930s allowed poll taxes.
Ms. Harper then quickly appealed this decision to the Supreme Court. Her case was heard along with Ms. Butts's case in January 1966.
The Supreme Court's Decision
The Supreme Court voted 6 to 3 in favor of Ms. Harper. This meant they agreed that the poll tax was illegal.
The Court said that states cannot make people pay money to vote. They explained that a person's wealth should not decide if they can vote. Voting rights, they said, have nothing to do with how much money someone has.
This ruling changed an earlier Supreme Court decision from 1937, called Breedlove v. Suttles. In that case, the Court had said states could use poll taxes. The Constitution's words had not changed between 1937 and 1966. However, the judges on the Supreme Court had changed. The new judges looked at the issue differently.
The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, had already banned poll taxes for federal elections. But it did not say anything about state elections. The Harper case specifically addressed poll taxes in state elections.
Disagreements Among the Judges
Three judges disagreed with the majority decision. They wrote separate opinions explaining why.
Justice John Marshall Harlan II, joined by Justice Potter Stewart, wrote one dissenting opinion. He argued that the Court had allowed other voting rules in the past that seemed to discriminate. For example, he mentioned a case that allowed literacy tests (tests to see if someone could read) and the earlier Breedlove case that allowed poll taxes. He felt that if a state had a good reason for a rule, it should be allowed. He thought Virginia's poll tax could be seen as reasonable. He believed it helped the state collect money and encouraged voters to be more interested in state policies.
Justice Hugo Black wrote another dissenting opinion. He mainly based his disagreement on stare decisis. This is a legal idea that courts should stick to earlier decisions. He believed that if the Constitution needed a new meaning, it should happen through a new amendment, not by judges changing its meaning.
Justice Black had a complex view of the Fourteenth Amendment. He had strongly supported the Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). That case ordered public schools to end segregation.
