poll tax
noun
: a tax of a fixed amount per person levied on adults and often linked to the right to vote
Examples of poll tax in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 1964: The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited both Congress and any of the states from imposing a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections, was ratified.
—
Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Republicans meanwhile have pushed against expansion, especially by supporting voter ID laws, which can make voting more time consuming, and in some cases, may require people to pay fees to secure IDs (which critics liken to a poll tax).
—Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Upon the basis of these findings, Congress declares that the constitutional right of citizens to vote is denied or abridged in some areas by the requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting.
—JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
Equal Ground Action Fund Executive Director Genesis Robinson told Newsweek that forcing people to pay for documents equates to a poll tax.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poll tax
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Republicans meanwhile have pushed against expansion, especially by supporting voter ID laws, which can make voting more time consuming, and in some cases, may require people to pay fees to secure IDs (which critics liken to a poll tax).
—Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Upon the basis of these findings, Congress declares that the constitutional right of citizens to vote is denied or abridged in some areas by the requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting.
—JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
Equal Ground Action Fund Executive Director Genesis Robinson told Newsweek that forcing people to pay for documents equates to a poll tax.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poll tax
Cite this Entry
“Poll tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poll%20tax. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
