If you had to pay $4.99 to vote I suspect people might complain about how "democratic" that was. It's at worst a bit of an over-reaching use of the word, and not some horrible evil conspiracy to exclude poor children from doing maths on the interwebs.

You do pay a lot more than $5 to vote in the form of taxes. If you stop paying your taxes, will you still have your right to vote after your sorry ass lands in jail for defrauding the IRS?

There you go, so much for free democracy.

> If you stop paying your taxes, will you still have your right to vote after your sorry ass lands in jail for defrauding the IRS?

In Europe, yes, you can still vote. Even if you are a convicted of murdering the people who came to take you away for not paying your taxes.

Further reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11674014

For some crimes, the sentences can include temporary removal of some rights, including the right to vote.