<P> As late as 1962, programs such as Operation Eagle Eye in Arizona attempted to stymie minority voting through literacy tests . The 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 to prohibit poll taxes as a condition of voter registration and voting in federal elections . Many states continued to use them in state elections as a means of reducing the number of voters . </P> <P> The American Civil Rights Movement, through such events as the Selma to Montgomery marches and Freedom Summer in Mississippi, gained passage by the United States Congress of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorized federal oversight of voter registration and election practices and other enforcement of voting rights . Congress passed the legislation because it found "case by case litigation was inadequate to combat widespread and persistent discrimination in voting". Activism by African Americans helped secure an expanded and protected franchise that has benefited all Americans, including racial and language minorities . </P> <P> The bill provided for federal oversight, if necessary, to ensure just voter registration and election procedures . The rate of African - American registration and voting in Southern states climbed dramatically and quickly, but it has taken years of federal oversight to work out the processes and overcome local resistance . In addition, it was not until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 - 3 in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) that all state poll taxes (for both state and federal elections) were officially declared unconstitutional as violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . This removed a burden on the poor . </P> <P> Legal challenges have continued under the Voting Rights Act, primarily in areas of redistricting and election systems, for instance, challenging at - large election systems that effectively reduce the ability of minority groups to elect candidates of their choice . Such challenges have particularly occurred at the county and municipal level, including for school boards, where exclusion of minority groups and candidates at such levels has been persistent in some areas of the country . This reduces the ability of women and minorities to participate in the political system and gain entry - level experience . </P>

Which of these statements describe the state of voting rights from colonial times until 1971