Amendment XXIV makes voter ID cards illegal, doesn't it?

[rpgamerd00d]

Amendment XXIV - Poll tax barred. Ratified 1/23/1964. History

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


Wouldn't a voter ID card be illegal according to this?

[tyedyeto]

1. Do you pay a 'tax' in order to get a voter ID card?

If not, then it's probably legal.

[shoelace414]

2. Depends on who's interperting the law

and anyway, if it works for one or two elections, then it's all worth it for Republicans. they can come up with something else in four years.

[eyesroll]

3. If the only way to get a voter ID card was to pay for it, then yes.

If there were free ID cards (or a fee waiver program), then no.

Taking two busses and waiting in a long line in order to get the free ID probably won't be interpreted as a "poll tax."

I haven't taken Con law yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

[meow2u3]

4. There also must be easy access to those voter ID cards

It's no use if poor voters can't access the agencies that issue voter ID cards. Having too few locations, or putting them in locations not readily accessible to poor voters, making people go out of their way to receive a voter ID is just another sneaky repuke method of constructive disenfranchisement of poor Dem voters.

[eyesroll]

8. But is sneaky, constructive disenfranchisement unconstitutional?

I'm by no means arguing in favor of ID cards, especially if they're hard to get -- but I wonder if this Supreme Court would say that we all have the constitutional right to an unencumbered vote, or just a non-taxed one.

[MercutioATC]

9. I think the SCOTUS would side with free cards.

Proving identity to vote isn't an "encumbrance" as far as I'm concerned.

[William769]

5. ...

[tocqueville]

6. typical case of "constitutionalism"

it's obvious that the amendment above intended to safueguard the right to vote against eventual financial pressure and thus allow even the poorest to vote....

it has nothing to do with identity when voting, since the vote itself is kept secret. What I know of European countries have in general a voter ID card : it's necessary to ensure that the person isn't voting several times and can only vote in a certain district, specially with hand-counted ballots... What I know of the votes in those countries are not "less democratic" for that.

better procedures won't be attained by "translations" of a 200 year old document written with totally different intentions in a different context...

[bowens43]

7. No.