In an election between two candidates, the defeated

Solution

Calculation: ⇒ Let the total valid votes be V. ⇒ Defeated candidate secured 42% of valid votes, so: ⇒ V × 42% = 0.42V ⇒ Winning candidate secured (100% - 42%) = 58% of valid votes, so: ⇒ V × 58% = 0.58V ⇒ The difference in votes between the winning and defeated candidate is 2545800: ⇒ 0.58V - 0.42V = 2545800 ⇒ 0.16V = 2545800 ⇒ V = 2545800 / 0.16 ⇒ V = 15911250 ⇒ Total Votes Polled = V + Invalid Votes ⇒ Total Votes Polled = 15911250 + 365500 ⇒ Total Votes Polled = 16276750 ⇒ Total Electorate = Total Votes Polled / (1 - Percentage of people who did not vote) ⇒ Total Electorate = 16276750 / (1 - 0.30) ⇒ Total Electorate = 16276750 / 0.70 ⇒ Total Electorate ≈ 23252500 ⇒ People who did not cast their votes = Total Electorate × Percentage of people who did not vote ⇒ People who did not cast their votes = 23252500 × 0.30 ⇒ People who did not cast their votes ≈ 6975750 ∴ The approximate number of people (in millions) in the electorate who did NOT cast their votes is 7 million.