Political Analyst: Because our city is a border city, illega

[suhuikoh]

Hi MGMAT tutors,

I don't understand the explanation for this CR question below.

Political Analyst: Because our city is a border city, illegal immigration is an important issue in the current race for mayor. Of the two candidates for mayor, one supports a plan that would attempt to deport the city’s 9,000 illegal immigrants and the other does not. Surveys consistently show that about 60% of the city’s residents are opposed to the plan, while about 35% are in support of the plan. Therefore, the candidate who does not support the plan will win the election for mayor.

All of the following statements weaken the analyst’s argument, EXCEPT:

(A) In the city at issue, most voters make their voting decisions based on the candidates’ positions on abortion.

(B) Of the 35% of residents who support the plan, some are willing to consider alternate plans for addressing illegal immigration.

(C) Many of the residents who oppose the plan are not registered voters.

(D) The candidate who supports the plan is the incumbent mayor, and has been elected to four consecutive terms despite taking controversial positions on many important issues.

(E) Just under 30% of the city’s residents are illegal immigrants who cannot vote.

OA is B but I chose E. Why B?

Thanks

[RonPurewal]

Choice B has no effect here, because it only divides the minority group. Under choice B, the 60% majority is still a 60% majority.

Choice C removes people from the majority group.
Choice E does exactly the same thing"”"”in exactly the same way!

With choice E, you simply have to use common sense to realize that illegal immigrants will be among the 60%, not among the 35%. (They obviously won't support a plan that would lead to their own deportation.)

[VipulG805]

Hello Ron,

Will it be possible for you to explain why choice A is not the answer?

My thinking:
In the city at issue, most voters make their voting decisions based on the candidates’ positions on abortion.
By this statement I understand that most voters don't make voting decisions based on the issue of illegal immigration. But this understanding doesn't tell me whether the candidate who does not support the plan will win or lose the election for mayor.

Kindly tell whether my understanding of the statement A correct.

Kind Regards,
Vipul

[KaushikR796]

Hi Ron,

I was stuck between B and D and chose the D options.
Here is my thought process on option D.
I felt while the mayor has won even though he took controversial position, there is no statement saying that he won despite being unpopular over some issue.
So basically having a controversial position cannot be equated to having an unpopular stand on an issue. Hence i felt this option cannot be a weakener.

Now lets look at option B. Option B is still a better choice.

Can you please explain.

Thanks in advance

[cgentry]

Hi Ron,

I was stuck between B and D and chose the D options.
Here is my thought process on option D.
I felt while the mayor has won even though he took controversial position, there is no statement saying that he won despite being unpopular over some issue.
So basically having a controversial position cannot be equated to having an unpopular stand on an issue. Hence i felt this option cannot be a weakener.

Now lets look at option B. Option B is still a better choice.

Can you please explain.

Thanks in advance

I'm sorry, but I don't think you've actually stated a question. You understand that B is the correct choice...what would you like explained?

[Wangi131]

Choice B has no effect here, because it only divides the minority group. Under choice B, the 60% majority is still a 60% majority.

Choice C removes people from the majority group.
Choice E does exactly the same thing"”"”in exactly the same way!

With choice E, you simply have to use common sense to realize that illegal immigrants will be among the 60%, not among the 35%. (They obviously won't support a plan that would lead to their own deportation.)

Hi Ron,

Cloud you please make further explanation about E ?
If 1% of the city’s residents are illegal immigrants, then there will be 59% of the city’s residents who are opposed to the plan.
If so, this option could not weaken the argument, since 59% > 35%

Maybe I misunderstand the meaning of "just under 30%" ?

Thanks a lot!

[ajaym8]

Choice B has no effect here, because it only divides the minority group. Under choice B, the 60% majority is still a 60% majority.

Choice C removes people from the majority group.
Choice E does exactly the same thing"”"”in exactly the same way!

With choice E, you simply have to use common sense to realize that illegal immigrants will be among the 60%, not among the 35%. (They obviously won't support a plan that would lead to their own deportation.)

Hi Ron,

Cloud you please make further explanation about E ?
If 1% of the city’s residents are illegal immigrants, then there will be 59% of the city’s residents who are opposed to the plan.
If so, this option could not weaken the argument, since 59% > 35%

Maybe I misunderstand the meaning of "just under 30%" ?

Thanks a lot!

Could you please make further explanation about E ?

I will try to explain E further. Suppose 29%(just under 30%) are IM (illegal immigrants who can't vote). As Ron said above, this 29% has to be a part of 60%.
That means 60-29 = 31% people can vote and are not in support. However, 35% voters support. It's likely that in this manner (35>31), the candidate who supports will win - weakens, in fact proves the conclusion wrong ,because the conclusion says that candidate not in support will win.
Since this is an EXCEPT question, choice E can't be the answer.

If 1% of the city’s residents are illegal immigrants, then there will be 59% of the city’s residents who are opposed to the plan.
If so, this option could not weaken the argument, since 59% > 35%

Your assumption - 1% are IM is not "just" below 30%. It's "way" below 30%. Option E says "just" below.

I hope I explained correctly. Instructors, kindly verify.

Thanks !

[RonPurewal]

"just under" means "barely less than".
...so, "just under 30 percent" would mean something like 28%, or 29.7%, or whatever.

__

[RonPurewal]

...but, MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY --

remember, you should never have to "plug in numbers" on VERBAL problems! if you feel the need to do this, then, you are probably missing something MAJOR.

in this problem:

• choice E reduces the effect/influence of the 60% figure.
since these 60% OPPOSE the plan, choice E weakens the opposition to the plan.

• choice B reduces the effect/influence of the 35% figure.
since these 35% SUPPORT the plan, choice B weakens the support for the plan.

in other words:
• E goes the wrong way
• B goes the right way
...totally black-and-white. there's no reason to even think about the impact of specific percentages.