A poll tax enacted in 1902 effectively disenfranchised blacks and poor whites, and the courthouse cliques fell all over themselves to ensure that reliable voters' taxes were paid on time (often as early as three years before an election).
A poll tax enacted in 1902 effectively disenfranchised blacks and poor whites. The courthouse cliques of the Byrd machine fell all over themselves to ensure that "reliable" voters' poll taxes were paid on time (often as early as three years before an election).