All 250 of the city’s Democratic ward leaders were polled about the number of registered Republicans who became registered Democrats during the year. From the reports of the 20 leaders who replied to the questionnaire, we know that altogether they received a total of 500 former Republicans into the Democratic party within the year. Projecting from this sample, we conclude that at least 6,000 Republicans became Democrats during the year.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most clearly undermines the conclusion?


(A) Several years ago, 5,000 members of the Republican party registered as Democrats.

(B) The more than 90 percent of ward leaders not replying had no former Republicans registering as Democrats.

(C) Because they were too busy, more than 90 percent of the ward leaders did not reply.

(D) A number of the newly registered Democrats returned to the Republican party at a later date.

(E) Similar figures can be produced from past years for registration changes from the Democratic party to the Republican party.



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