The poll tax was a fee required to vote in many U.S. states, primarily used in the South. It significantly restricted voting rights for low-income individuals and African Americans, serving as a barrier to participation in elections. Instituted after the Reconstruction era, poll taxes were seen as a means to disenfranchise minority voters and maintain the power of white supremacist systems. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eventually prohibited poll taxes in federal elections, reinforcing voting rights and promoting more equitable electoral participation.