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Suppose that in an election, voter preference is sharply divided along gender lines. Which represents the lowest percentage of voters that must be women on election day for Candidate B to win?

a) 30%
b) 40%
c) 50%
d) 60%

User RRM
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The lowest percentage of voters that must be women for Candidate B to win in an election sharply divided along gender lines is 50%, given that all women support Candidate B and all men do not.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the lowest percentage of voters that must be women on election day for Candidate B to win, assuming that voting is sharply divided along gender lines, we can use an illustrative example. Let's say in this scenario, women overwhelmingly support Candidate B. For Candidate B to achieve a simple majority, we should consider the extreme case in which all men vote against Candidate B and all women vote for Candidate B.

In this case, Candidate B would need just over 50% of the votes to win. If we assume a 50-50 split in the electorate, then the lowest percentage of voters who are women for B to win would theoretically be just over 50%. However, if women are more likely to vote than men, which is suggested by real-world voting patterns, the proportion of women voters needed could be lower.

Without specific numbers for preferences in this scenario, the safe answer would be that at least 50% of voters must be women for Candidate B to win, since any number below 50% would automatically give men (assuming they all vote against Candidate B) a majority.

User Rassi
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