hazelnut wrote:
Concerned Citizen: The American electoral system clearly possesses deep flaws and must be discarded in favor of a more fair and just system. In several recent elections, candidates who were leading in pre-election polls failed to win election to office.
The suggestion that the American electoral system must be discarded most strongly depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. The candidate leading in pre-election polls won a majority of the popular vote in the actual election yet still failed to be elected.
B. The voting population did not significantly alter its feelings on which candidate was preferred during the time interval between the pre-election polls and the actual election.
C. The candidate winning the election consistently spent more money than the candidate who was leading in pre-election polls but failed to actually win.
D. The candidate who actually won office typically relied on a strongly negative campaign strategy and attacked his or her opponent's personal credibility in the final days before the election.
E. The elections in question were for major national or state offices and received considerable media coverage.
The suggestion that the American electoral system must be discarded most strongly depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. The candidate leading in pre-election polls won a majority of the popular vote in the actual election yet still failed to be elected.
B. The voting population did not significantly alter its feelings on which candidate was preferred during the time interval between the pre-election polls and the actual election.
C. The candidate winning the election consistently spent more money than the candidate who was leading in pre-election polls but failed to actually win.
D. The candidate who actually won office typically relied on a strongly negative campaign strategy and attacked his or her opponent's personal credibility in the final days before the election.
E. The elections in question were for major national or state offices and received considerable media coverage.
Premise:
Candidates who were leading in pre-election polls failed to win election to office.
Conclusion: American electoral system clearly possesses deep flaws and must be discarded
Because the pre-poll leader failed to win, we are concluding that the electoral system has deep flaws.
A. The candidate leading in pre-election polls won a majority of the popular vote in the actual election yet still failed to be elected.
We are not assuming that the candidate won a majority of the popular vote. We don't know what the flaws are. The flaw could be that the candidate leading in pre-election poll did not win majority in actual election. All we know is that the one leading in pre-election polls failed to be elected.
B. The voting population did not significantly alter its feelings on which candidate was preferred during the time interval between the pre-election polls and the actual election.
This is correct. We need this to be true (it is necessary) for the conclusion to hold. We need the voting population to not significantly alter its feelings. Only then will the pre election leader win and we won't conclude that the system has deep flaws.
Negate it: The voting population did significantly alter its feelings.
If they did, then the pre-election poll leader would not win. Then the entire argument falls apart.
C. The candidate winning the election consistently spent more money than the candidate who was leading in pre-election polls but failed to actually win.
Irrelevant. We don't know what impact spending more money has.
D. The candidate who actually won office typically relied on a strongly negative campaign strategy and attacked his or her opponent's personal credibility in the final days before the election.
Again irrelevant. We don't know what impact this campaign strategy has.
E. The elections in question were for major national or state offices and received considerable media coverage.
Irrelevant
Answer (B)