June 2017 LSAT Section 2 Question 20

Voting records regularly show that people over 65 vote in the highest percentages while young adults are least likely...

Deke on June 29, 2019

This one kills me, even after i know the answer is A

E still seems like the best answer, how are "young adults" and people 65 and older placed into sub-generational stages? and how is E not a MUCH better answer.

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Ravi on June 29, 2019

@Deke,

Happy to help. Let's look at (A) and (E).

(E) says, "overlooks the possibility that voting patterns among age
groups will change in the future"

(E) is tricky, but it doesn't actually overlook this possibility. The
argument in the stimulus is entirely in the present tense, and it
argues that citizens are presently becoming more disconnected from
politics. It doesn't act as though these circumstances couldn't
change. Voting patterns continuing to change in the future is totally
consistent with the stimulus, so (E) is out.

(A) says, "compares an early stage of one generation to a later stage
of another"

(A) pick's up on the questionable reasoning in the argument. The
people who are now in the over 65 group were at one point in the young
adult group. Thus, even if these folks are the most likely to
participate presently, they might have been the least likely to
participate at another point in time. Therefore, it isn't fair to
compare how these people are voting now with the young adult group of
the present day. This is why (A) is the correct answer choice.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!

Minerva on August 31, 2019

Can someone please explain why B and C are incorrect? Thanks!

Victoria on August 31, 2019

Hi @Minerva,

B is incorrect because the relative sizes of the generations do not matter. We are comparing the percentages of each generation that vote and using it to conclude their general likelihood of voting. Even if there are twice as many young adults as there are people over 65, having a 25% voting rate and a 75% voting rate, respectively, would still mean that people over 65 are more likely to vote than young adults.

C is incorrect because it is not a flaw in the argument. The explanation for why young adults vote less than people over 65 is provided in the conclusion: "that citizens are becoming increasingly disconnected from the political system with each passing generation."

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.