Some did not punch their ballots hard enough. In the 1996 Presidential elections, 2.5 percent of the votes were discounted. Most elections are decided by margins much smaller than that. Spoiled ballots work to the advantage of Republicans. One can see this in Florida.
Democratic voters are almost certainly less competent than Republican voters.
The Democrats generally do well among those not smart enough to figure out a ballot paper and among those too weak to vote properly. According to exit polls, of the 5 percent of voters who have no high school degree 59 percent went for Gore and only 39 percent for Bush. Of the 22 percent of voters who are 60 and older 51 percent went for Gore and 47 percent for Bush. This explains George W. Bush s reluctance to sanction hand counts. It would eliminate the Republicans built-in advantage.