Whatever else might be said about American elections, they are quite

Question

Whatever else might be said about American elections, they are quite unlike those in totalitarian countries in that Americans make choices. And one choice they can make in this free country is to stay home.

What is the author’s point in the above passage?

A. Americans who do decide to vote make more choices than those who do not.
B. American elections embody many negative aspects, most of which are not embodied by elections in totalitarian countries.
C. Choosing not to vote is the prerogative of a free citizen.
D. All citizens vote in every election in totalitarian countries.
E. Most American voters are not well informed enough to vote wisely

pintukr · Answer

Bunuel

'Unlike those in totalitarian countries' implies that this choice making (ie, to stay home or otherwise) is unavailable to voters in totalitarian countries. Clearly, it is deduced that all citizens have to mandatorily vote during elections in the totalitarian countries.

I still feel that (D) should be the correct answer.

Am I wrong..in my explanation?

I still feel that (D) should be the correct answer.

Am I wrong..in my explanation?

Whatever else might be said about American elections, they are quite unlike those in totalitarian countries in that Americans make choices. And one choice they can make in this free country is to stay home.

What is the author’s point in the above passage?

A. Americans who do decide to vote make more choices than those who do not.
B. American elections embody many negative aspects, most of which are not embodied by elections in totalitarian countries.
C. Choosing not to vote is the prerogative of a free citizen.
D. All citizens vote in every election in totalitarian countries.
E. Most American voters are not well informed enough to vote wisely

jatin22 · Answer

C seems like the obvious answer in that it is implied that Americans are free not to vote and that too is a choice they make. I see the point made by  pintukr  too, it does seem "unlike totalitarian countries" makes it appear like the citizens cannot choose to stay home. However, I think the point here is about having choice/freedom at all, and staying home is just an example of having that choice, because 'totalitarian' in itself means that there is only one body with absolute political power making elections redundant anyway so that the vote of the citizens may or may not be given but does not matter either way.

RishabhBhasin · Answer

I am not able to figure out why Option D is not the right choice. Kindly help.

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

This is kind of a weird question, since there isn't just one point the author is making, and C is just a random fact that seems inferable, rather than the MAIN point (if there is one).

Having said that, D is wrong because we don't know in what ways choice is restricted in totalitarian governments. Perhaps you can vote or not, but there is only one candidate or party to vote for. (In real life, this is often what happens.) Perhaps however you vote, the ballots will "mysteriously" add up in favor of the current administration. It's certainly possible that every citizen is compelled to vote, but we don't know this. In fact, D is pretty hard to imagine. Even in a country with severe penalties for not voting, some people still might not actually vote, whether they are then punished or not.

Whatever else might be said about American elections, they are quite

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Whatever else might be said about American elections, they are quite

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