Election Math: Majorities, Turnout and Margins

1. 1.

   The House has 435 seats. What is the smallest number of seats that counts as a majority?

   A217B218C200D300
2. 2.

   The Senate has 100 members and a vote ends 50 to 50. Who breaks the tie?

   AThe Speaker of the HouseBThe Chief JusticeCThe vice presidentDThe senator who has served longest
3. 3.

   A county has 120,000 registered voters and 78,000 of them voted. What was the turnout?

   A78%B54%C65%D42%
4. 4.

   The chart shows the votes in one House district. What percentage of the votes did Ortiz receive?

   

   A36%B52%C60%D48%
5. 5.

   In a governor's race one candidate received 52,300 votes and the other 49,700. What was the margin of victory in votes?

   A2,600 votesB3,600 votesC1,300 votesD102,000 votes
6. 6.

   The table shows registered voters and voters who turned out, by age group. What was the turnout for ages 45 to 64?

   

   A55%B65%C38%D70%
7. 7.

   A state with about 39 million people has 52 representatives. About how many people does each representative serve?

   AAbout 75,000BAbout 7.5 millionCAbout 750,000DAbout 2 million
8. 8.

   In a midterm year, 33 of the 100 Senate seats are up for election. About what fraction of the Senate is that?

   AAbout one halfBAbout one quarterCAbout two thirdsDAbout one third
9. 9.

   Turnout in a town rose from 40% in one midterm to 50% in the next. By how many percentage points did it rise?

   A10 percentage pointsB25 percentage pointsC90 percentage pointsD50 percentage points
10. 10.

    With 80% of the votes counted, candidate X leads candidate Y by 4,000 votes. The remaining 30,000 votes split 60% for Y and 40% for X. Who wins, and by how much?

    AX, by 4,000 votesBY, by 6,000 votesCY, by 2,000 votesDX, by 2,000 votes

Election Math: Majorities, Turnout and Margins — Answer key

1. 1.B — 218
   2.C — The vice president
2. 3.C — 65%
   4.D — 48%
3. 5.A — 2,600 votes
   6.B — 65%
4. 7.C — About 750,000
   8.D — About one third
5. 9.A — 10 percentage points
   10.C — Y, by 2,000 votes