Columnist: Polls can influence voters’ decisions, and they may distort

Question

Columnist:  Polls can influence voters’ decisions, and they may distort the outcome of an election since their results are much less reliable than the public believes. Furthermore, the publication of polls immediately prior to an election allows no response from those wishing to dispute the polls’ findings. A ban on publishing polls during the week prior to an election only minimally impairs freedom of expression, and thus should be implemented.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the columnist’s argument?

(A) Few people are influenced by the results of polls published during the two weeks immediately prior to an election.

(B) The publication of poll results would not decide the winner of an uneven election race.

(C) The publication of poll results may remove some voters’ motivation to vote because of the certainty that a particular candidate will win.

(D) The publication of poll results in the last weeks before an election draws attention to candidates’ late gains in popularity.

(E) Countries in which such a ban is in effect do not generally have better informed citizens than do countries in which such a ban is not in effect.

Saasingh · Accepted Answer

A.

Conclusion: A ban on publishing polls during the  week prior  to an election only minimally impairs freedom of expression, and thus should be implemented.

Reasoning: Because people are influenced, distorts views... Also only minimally hampers freedom of speech.

But, as mentioned in A, if only few people, say 2 or 5, are influenced by poll in last two weeks, what good would banning the polls in last week do? Because probably most people were already influenced initially. Thus conclusion to ban polls  "in last week"  might be useless.

C is wrong cause it actually strengthens by supporting the evidence. If it reduces motivation in some people means it succeeded in influencing people, which we truly wanted to avoid in the first place

GMATNinja · Answer

There's no precise definition or limit, but "few" certainly does not mean "nearly half" (as in 40-50%).

If the passage said that "most" are NOT influenced by such polls, then sure, we'd have to assume that anywhere from 0 to 49% ARE influenced. But in this context, "few" suggests that we're talking about a relatively small number of people -- most likely too small to significantly impact the results of an election.

(E) is basically a big nothing-burger: "Countries in which such a ban is in effect do NOT generally have better informed citizens than do countries in which such a ban is not in effect." So it's possible that there's absolutely no relationship between having a ban and having well-informed citizens. And the argument has nothing to do with how "well-informed" the citizens are anyway, so (E) is completely irrelevant.

I hope that helps!

DinoPen · Answer

Polls influence voter decisions
Polls immediately before election shift perspectives without rebuttals.
Implementing a poll ban immediately before an election should be implemented.

I was stuck between C and D. I ultimately chose C.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the columnist’s argument?

(A) Few people are influenced by the results of polls published during the two weeks immediately prior to an election.
 This strengthens the argument. If you don't want poll interference, then don't have it before the election.

(B) The publication of poll results would not decide the winner of an uneven election race.
 We don't have information about whether the race is uneven or even...

(C) The publication of poll results may remove some voters’ motivation to vote because of the certainty that a particular candidate will win.
 Yes. Even though the polls are earlier, they still have some influence on voter action.

(D) The publication of poll results in the last weeks before an election draws attention to candidates’ late gains in popularity.
 Answer Choice C is stronger when weakening the argument. I would need more information around 'popularity' to have a more concrete 'yes' to this answer since knowing that a 'popular candidate' is popular does not 'shift' opinions of that candidate.

(E) Countries in which such a ban is in effect do not generally have better informed citizens than do countries in which such a ban is not in effect.
 Better informed citizens? This is out of scope.

Abhishek009 · Answer

IMHO (A) , if few people are affected then what use is it ?

anshsaurabh447 · Answer

If few people are affected then it should be banned. But we are supposed to weaken this. So, this option cannot be the answer.

Correct option- C
   Posted from my mobile device

jrk23 · Answer

still not able to get how "C" is the strengthener. If polls effect people behavior, distort their mind of set. Than how "C" is strengthener.

Also conclusion is " polls before week do minimal damage and therefore, it should be implemented.

And choice "A" is saying only few people are affecting and there should be implemented.

Anyone please explain in detail.

Saasingh · Answer

jrk23  : To answer you please see below explanation.

A says only few are affected in last two weeks. Think about what the conclusion is in your own language. It says :  Ban should be implemented "in the last week" because polls "influence" people, "distort " their views.

Note the timeline. Ban on polls is not for all time. It is only saying  "in the last week" . What about weeks before this last week? Think of it.

Now see what A says. It says, few people(1,2,3,... ) are influenced in last 2 weeks of polling. Translate in your language. Its simply saying that only 1,2,3, or "negligible" number of people are influenced in those last two weeks.

Imagine, I say people should stop eating pizza to reduce fat. But I say ban should  only be in the week prior to Christmas . Why?  Probably I am assuming that people eat pizza  maximum  in the week prior to Christmas? . So a potential weakener could weaken this assumption. Lets say,  Only 1 or 2 persons eat pizza in last week.   If this is true, my conclusion is a dead chicken. Because it simply says that even if I do implement the ban, its not gonna have the expected result as only "few" people actually eat pizza in the last week. That's same as option A. I hope you see it.

Now for C, it strengthens because if polls do really eliminate motivation of voters to vote, isn't it the same as influencing them? The whole passage is stating that because polls "influence people", "distort views" (such as, do not vote), we should implement a ban. Our job is not to question the premise. The premise that polls influence people is not to be questioned. Accept it as true. But option C "reinforces" the strength of the conclusion by strengthening the premise a further level.

ravigupta2912 · Answer

Can someone clarify what "few" means. I eliminated A thinking that "few" can represent anything from 1% to 49% and hence even if it is 20% (example), it is a significant number. Went with E since that was the only other direct weakener.

Saasingh · Answer

Few means negligible number of people.

VECHAMSRIRAM · Answer

If only few people are influenced two weeks prior when compared to the influence one week prior. It suggests that one week prior we should ban because of its influence, hence it strengthen the columnist argument.

Please explain, thanks.

Please explain, thanks.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Notice that the choice doesn't say "two weeks prior to an election."

It says " during the two weeks  immediately prior to an election."

The week just prior to an election is included in the time period " during the two weeks  immediately prior to an election."

Thus, choice (A) indicates that "few people are influenced by the results of polls published"  during the week  just prior to an election,

surendraambati1 · Answer

I went with B because when publication of poll doesn't effect results there is no use of banning the poll. In A 'Few' means we can consider significant number . So eliminated A. please enlighten me if i am wrong

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

(B) is about only a subset of situations It's about situations in which there is "an uneven election race."

So, publication of poll results could still affect results in other situations, and thus (B) doesn't really weaken the argument.

"Few" in such a context actually means "only a small number."

So, (A) communicates that only a small number of people are influenced by poll results during the two weeks before an election, and thus weakens the argument for banning publishing results.

Riya1475828 · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep   GMATNinja  can you please comment on this and correct us on why exactly A isn't wrong? As I am also in this line of reasoning.

heron6 · Answer

After taking out options, my remaining options are A & B, but I picked B because following reason

- A: It could have following implication, which makes me get rid this option after second consideration
-- If the poll published in the last week prior to the voting, it could affect more people's voting decisions due to being closer to the voting thus have a better momentum, therefore distort the result of the election more, meaning it strengthens the conclusion

- B: It could have two implications, which one which can weaken the argument
-- B1: If the voting result is uneven, the poll will not be published which "distortion of voting result" will not happen, thus weakening the argument
-- B2: If the voting result is even, the poll will be published which will distort voting result, thus strengthening the argument

Based on those thinking process, I picked B. Can someone please help to explain what part did I wrong in evaluating my answers? Thanks before

GMATNinja · Answer

The key on this is to be really, really careful when interpreting the meaning of answer choices.

(A) talks about the period  during  the final two weeks leading up to election.  During  this period includes the final week. So, according to (A), any polls published during this period will  not  have any bearing on the result of the election. That weakens the author's argument that we should ban such polls.

As for (B), take another look at the exct language of the answer choice:

In the scenario laid out by (B), the poll results could be published for any election race. It's just that this publication would not  decide the winner  in certain races (uneven ones, to be specific).

But what about  even  election races? If polls could decide the winner in THOSE races, that means that the polls are indeed distorting the outcome of some elections.

That's why (B) isn't a great weakener -- the author cares about ALL election races, and (B) just tells us that the polls don't matter for  some  races.

I hope that helps!

research11 · Answer

Eliminated “A” because of voters to people generalisation.

Posted from my mobile device

arjitt · Answer

The reason i believe A i the correct choice is because few people were affected 2 weeks prior to the election due to the polls and in the passage we are only banning a week prior so my point is if people were being only affected in the last week then fair enough polls should be banned in the final week but that is not the case people are being affected by them before also so banning them in the final week isnt gonna do much the damage has already been done people have been affected so why bother banning it in the last week if anything the polls should be banned for ever and not just in the last week is what i understood from A so that is why implementation of ban in the last week doesnt make sense.
due to this reason i found this the best possible answer not perfect tho because an argument could be even if 3 people are affected in the last week then it could impact the election but i am overlooking this aspect since the damage by the polls have already been done before the ban.

please feel free to correct or reply if my reasoning does not make sense it will help me out.

Columnist: Polls can influence voters’ decisions, and they may distort

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Columnist: Polls can influence voters’ decisions, and they may distort

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