Mr. Chairman. Congress clearly has the authority under Katzenbach against Morgan to ban literacy tests. In another case. Oregon against Mitchell. the Supreme Court upheld the existing nationwide ban in previous versions of this particular law. The commonly stated purpose of literacy tests is to maintain an intelligent electorate. and Congress can clearly find that this purpose is not met through the use of literacy tests. As a matter of fact. there is a total absence of any evidence that the quality of government or of elected officials is higher in States with literacy tests than it is in others. Congress concludes now. as it did before. that a ban on literacy tests is a wise thing in order to give the rights under the 14th and 15th amendments to all Americans. Mr. Chairman. literacy tests cannot achieve their stated purposes. because they do not assure the qualification of intelligent voters. I think that with electronic media widely available now. it is quite possible and indeed probable that many people with very little formal education to be extraordinarily wellinformed and to be intelligent members of the electorate even though they are technically illiterate. Mr. Justice Black in the Mitchell case noted the long history of the discriminatory effect of literacy tests on minorities. For this and many other reasons. Mr.
Identified stereotypes
people with very little formal education can be extraordinarily well-informed and to be intelligent members of the electorate even though they are technically illiterate