Filed Date: 1964
Closed Date: March 24, 1996
Clearinghouse coding in progress
Virginia resident sued the state of Virginia for imposing a voter registration poll tax of $1.50 (adjusted for inflation equals to $15.81 as of 2026 according to CPI Inflation calculator). Plaintiff alleged the poll tax violated her rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. A three-judge federal district court dismissed her claim, citing a 1937 U.S. Supreme Court case Breedlove v. Buttles, which ruled in part that state-imposed poll tax does not violate the Equal Protection clause under the Fourteenth Amendment.
In a 6–3 decision in favor of Harper, the Supreme Court ruled that a state poll tax violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment whenever it requires the voter to make any payment, overruling its own precedent in Breedlove v. Suttles. The majority held that the right to vote is “too precious, too fundamental to be so burdened or conditioned” and poll tax has no relation to voting qualification.
Justice Black dissented on the ground that the majority opinion was reached not by using the Supreme Court’s limited power to interpret the Equal Protection Clause, but by giving it a new meaning that the majority believes represents a better governmental policy.
Justice Harlan dissented separately, which Justice Stewart joined. They concluded that standard of review for voting under the Equal Protection Clause is only rational basis, and states can pass the rational basis test because they have a desire to collect revenue and voter who pay to vote are generally more responsible, educated and knowledgeable, and people who do not care about voting are weeded out because they do not care to pay the poll tax.
The case was decided on March 24, 1966 and there are no further actions/development pending.
Summary Authors
(3/26/2026)
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Civil Rights Division Archival Collection
Trump Administration 2.0: Reversing Course on Existing Litigation
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1964
Closing Date: March 24, 1996
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A Virginia indigent voter.
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
State
State of Virginia
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
Eastern District of Virginia 64-cv-03253
Supreme Court of the United States 00048
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
National / Universal injunction
Issues
Voting:
Case Summary of Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/14734/ (last updated 3/26/2026).