Question

In an election contested by two candidates, one candidate got 25% of the total votes and still lost by 20,000 votes. Find the total number of votes cast? (all votes are valid)

• A. 35,000
• B. 40,000
• C. 25,000
• D. 55,000

Answer 1

Answer:

B. 40,000

Let total votes be (x).

One candidate gets 25% votes:
= 0.25x

So the other candidate gets:

= 0.75x

Difference in votes

0.75x - 0.25x = 0.50x

Given this difference is 20,000:
0.50x = 20000
$x = \frac{20000}{0.5} = 40000$

Final Answer:

Total votes cast = 40,000