In the case of Fortis Morse, Kenneth Curtis Bartholomew and Kimberly J. Enderson v. Republican Party of Virginia et al., 1995, the plaintiffs challenged a fee charged by the Republican Party for participation in its primary election as a poll tax prohibited under the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 10 of Voting Rights Act (VRA). The Supreme Court ruled that neither provision applied because they only pertain to state actions, not those taken by political parties which are private entities. The court also found that even if these provisions did apply to party primaries, this particular fee would still be permissible since it was used solely for administrative costs associated with conducting an open primary rather than being imposed as a prerequisite for voting or registering to vote.

In the dissenting opinion for Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia, Justice Stevens argued that the $45 fee required to participate in a party primary was equivalent to a poll tax and therefore unconstitutional under the 24th Amendment. He contended that this fee served as an obstacle preventing low-income individuals from participating in the political process, thereby violating their rights. Furthermore, he disagreed with majority's view that primaries were not elections but rather internal party affairs; instead asserting they played a crucial role in determining who would ultimately hold public office and should thus be subject to constitutional scrutiny like general elections. The dissent also criticized how such fees could potentially allow parties to manipulate outcomes by selectively discouraging certain demographics from voting.