Topic: Election Data (Turnout, Vote Shares, Percentage Change and Ratios)

Passage

In the fictional State Assembly election of Pragati Pradesh, four constituencies—River, Hill, Lake and Forest—were closely monitored because of changes in voter participation. Three candidates, representing Parties A, B and C, contested in all four constituencies.

The table below gives the number of registered electors in 2026, votes cast in the 2025 and 2026 elections, and the distribution of votes among the three candidates in 2026.

All votes cast in the 2026 election were valid and were distributed among the three candidates shown in the table. Thus, there were no invalid votes or NOTA votes.

Election analysts compared not only the individual constituency results but also the combined voter turnout and vote shares across all four constituencies. They were particularly interested in whether higher voter participation changed the relative position of the parties and which constituency recorded the strongest growth in participation compared with the previous election.

Questions

1. What was the overall voter turnout percentage across all four constituencies in 2026?

(A) 72% (B) 69%     (C) 71% (D) 70%

2. What percentage of the total votes cast across all four constituencies in 2026 was received by Party A?

(A) 43.24% (B) 44.07% (C) 45.07% (D) 46.12%

3. By approximately what percentage did the total number of votes cast across the four constituencies increase from 2025 to 2026?

(A) 5.00% (B) 8.33% (C) 6.58% (D) 7.58%

4. What is the simplest ratio of votes received by Party A to Party B in Hill constituency?

(A) 21 : 23 (B) 23 : 21 (C) 7 : 8 (D) 9 : 10

5. Suppose 840 of Party C’s votes in Lake constituency had instead gone to Party B, while the total number of votes cast remained unchanged. What would Party B’s vote share in Lake constituency then be?

(A) 44% (B) 46%     (C) 45% (D) 42%

6. Which constituency recorded the highest percentage increase in the number of votes cast from 2025 to 2026?

(A) Lake (B) Forest (C) Hill (D) River

Answer Key

Detailed Calculations

Question 1

Total registered electors = 25,000 + 20,000 + 30,000 + 25,000 = 1,00,000.

Total votes cast in 2026 = 18,000 + 15,000 + 21,000 + 17,000 = 71,000.

Turnout percentage = (Total votes cast ÷ Total registered electors) × 100 = (71,000 ÷ 1,00,000) × 100 = 71%.

Correct answer: (C) 71%.

Question 2

Total Party A votes = 8,100 + 6,300 + 9,240 + 7,650 = 31,290.

Total votes cast in 2026 = 71,000.

Party A vote share = (31,290 ÷ 71,000) × 100 = 44.0704% ≈ 44.07%.

Correct answer: (B) 44.07%.

Question 3

Total votes cast in 2025 = 16,500 + 14,000 + 19,500 + 16,000 = 66,000.

Total votes cast in 2026 = 71,000.

Increase = 71,000 − 66,000 = 5,000.

Percentage increase = (5,000 ÷ 66,000) × 100 = 7.5757% ≈ 7.58%.

Correct answer: (D) 7.58%.

Question 4

Hill constituency: Party A received 6,300 votes; Party B received 6,900 votes.

Ratio = 6,300 : 6,900. Dividing both terms by 300 gives 21 : 23.

Correct answer: (A) 21 : 23.

Question 5

Party B’s original Lake votes = 8,610.

New Party B votes = 8,610 + 840 = 9,450.

Total votes cast remains 21,000.

New vote share = (9,450 ÷ 21,000) × 100 = 45%.

Correct answer: (C) 45%.

Question 6

River: [(18,000 − 16,500) ÷ 16,500] × 100 = 9.09%.

Hill: [(15,000 − 14,000) ÷ 14,000] × 100 = 7.14%.

Lake: [(21,000 − 19,500) ÷ 19,500] × 100 = 7.69%.

Forest: [(17,000 − 16,000) ÷ 16,000] × 100 = 6.25%.

River has the highest increase at 9.09%.

Correct answer: (D) River.