Will Candidate A win the most votes of any of the competing candidates

Question

Will Candidate A win the most votes of any of the competing candidates in the upcoming election?

(1) An opinion poll, Poll P, indicates that 60% of respondents prefer Candidate A over other candidates competing in the upcoming election.

(2) An election-forecasting opinion poll is a method to estimate election outcomes based on a sample that is representative of the population of all of those legally entitled to vote.

GMATCoachBen · Accepted Answer

First, we must fully understand what's being asked. Notice the future tense,  "will" . We need to determine definitively whether Candidate A will win the most votes. This requires extremely strong evidence to answer a conclusive "yes" or "no" with 100% certainty.

Verbal DS questions like this one require reasoning similar to CR. A good mindset is to play Devil's Advocate and avoid making leaps or questionable assumptions.

Statement 1:​​​​​​​

(1) An opinion poll, Poll P, indicates that 60% of respondents prefer Candidate A over other candidates competing in the upcoming election.

One poll says that 60% prefer Candidate A. However, we don't know how accurate this poll is. Furthermore, voter preferences could change between now and the election.  Insufficient.

Statement 2:

(2) An election-forecasting opinion poll is a method to estimate election outcomes based on a sample that is representative of the population of all of those legally entitled to vote.

This just explains that election-forecasting opinion polls are designed to be representative (and therefore avoid sample biases). There is no info about Candidate A, so this is clearly  Insufficient  on its own.

Together:

There is a potential (C) trap here, as we might think that Statement 2 is saying that the opinion poll is representative, and therefore will accurately predict the future result.

However, actual future voting results will not necessarily match current poll predictions, because of factors such as voter turnout or changes in voter preferences.

Therefore, it's   Insufficient Together (E)

sayan640 · Answer

Estimation can always be wrong. Hence , E is the answer. The definte conclusion "will " may not follow.

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

Is GMAC testing us on language or interview like puzzle questions, which requires out of blue thinking?

atquereiciendis · Answer

Will Candidate A win the most votes of any of the competing candidates in the upcoming election?

(1) An opinion poll, Poll P, indicates that 60% of respondents prefer Candidate A over other candidates competing in the upcoming election.

(2) An election-forecasting opinion poll is a method to estimate election outcomes based on a sample that is representative of the population of all of those legally entitled to vote.

Bunuel  WHY CAN'T WE TAKE Statement (1) as sufficent

Bunuel · Answer

(1) is not sufficient for a very simple reason: polls  can  and  often are wrong , so a poll result does not guarantee the actual election outcome.

Will Candidate A win the most votes of any of the competing candidates

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GMAT Data Sufficiency (DS) Questions

Will Candidate A win the most votes of any of the competing candidates

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