In an election contested by only two candidates, one candidate got 30% of the total votes cast and lost by 500 votes. Determine the total number of votes that were cast in the elections?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → 1250
With only two candidates, the winner gets all the votes the loser does not, and the margin of defeat is the difference between their shares. Knowing what percentage the 500 votes are gives the value of 1%, and so of all the votes.
The loser has 30% of the votes cast, so the winner has \(100-30=70\%\)
The margin is \(70\%-30\%=40\%\) of the votes cast, and this is 500 votes
So 1% of the votes \(=500\div40=12.5\) votes
All the votes cast (100%) \(=12.5\times100=1250\)