Which of the following accurately represents an historical voting issue and a constitutional solution to the issue?

Question

A.
Eleven southern states implemented poll taxes to keep poor African Americans from voting; the 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 to ban the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.

B.
Young people were not educating themselves on political issues or candidates for public office, and their turnout rates were at an all-time low; the 26th Amendment raised the minimum voting age to 21.

C.
Northern states adopted literacy tests to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants; the practice was banned by a Supreme Court decision finding that it was in violation of the First Amendment.

D.
African Americans and women were being denied the right to vote in most states, especially in the South; the Supreme Court ruled that laws denying any citizen the right to vote were a violation of the 14th Amendment.

Answer 1

The option that accurately represents a historical voting issue and a constitutional solution to the issue is:

A. Eleven southern states implemented poll taxes to keep poor African Americans from voting; the 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 to ban the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.

This statement correctly describes how poll taxes were used to disenfranchise African Americans and the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, which prohibits poll taxes in federal elections.

The other options contain inaccuracies or misrepresentations regarding historical context or constitutional responses. For example, the 26th Amendment actually lowered the voting age to 18, not raised it to 21 (B), while literacy tests were often utilized in Southern states rather than Northern states, and their banning came through legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 rather than a Supreme Court decision based on the First Amendment (C). Additionally, the Supreme Court did not specifically rule on denying the right to vote under the 14th Amendment as presented in option D; instead, this issue was addressed through various civil rights legislation.