
CRAZY POLL TAX STORIES: The Way The 24th Amendment Was Passed, Why Some Loved Paying The Tax, and Three Words to Watch.
From My History Can Beat Up Your Politics by Bruce Carlson
April 5, 2026 · 29 min
About this episode
This episode explores the legislative history of the 24th Amendment and the complexities surrounding the poll tax in voting.
The 24th amendment banning the payment of poll tax or other tax in order to vote, had a crazy legislative history to get passed. Alexander's Hamilton's House became a central part of the Senate effort. How the poll tax was defended in 1939 in Texas, and how the way it was administered was often worse than any one-time fee. Also: 3 words to watch in voter ID battles. Why people still paid poll tax even after the amendment passed, and why maybe the 24th didn't need to be passed at all. in this episode a few stories we left out of our previous episode on the 24th Amendment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Bruce Carlson
Topics covered
- poll tax
- 24th Amendment
- voter ID
- legislative history
- Texas
- politics
Keywords
- poll tax
- 24th Amendment
- voter ID battles
- legislative history
- Texas
- Alexander Hamilton
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Texas
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