In some cases, ballots were left blank. Pam Karlan, a professor of law at Stanford University, said ever since Congress banned literacy voting tests in 1975, a growing number of people have assumed illiteracy no longer is a barrier at the polls. But as Florida's election showed, the problem remains. It's not a problem of race, she said, but one of education. When Elections Go Bad.
Literacy is a big barrier to political participation.
Trouble in Gadsden A prime example is Gadsden County, Florida's only predominantly black county. Gadsden had the highest percentage of discarded presidential ballots of Florida's 67 counties. And St. John Precinct had the largest percentage of invalid votes in the county. The precinct, nestled beside the Georgia state line, is where you'll find the Stateline Grocery, with a clear bag of water dangling from a clothes hanger under the front door's entrance to keep the flies away. This is a poor county, and its schools reflect that.