Question

You are on the staff of a member of Congress who is considering a bill that would provide government-sponsored insurance for nursing-home care. You report that 1128 letters have been received on the issue, of which 871 oppose the legislation. "I'm surprised that most of my constituents oppose the bill. I thought it would be quite popular," says the congresswoman. Are you convinced that a majority of the voters oppose the bill? How would you explain the statistical issue to the congresswoman?

Answer 1

Answer:

A majority of the voters in the constituency need not necessarily be opposing the bill as the sample of letters received may not be representative of the entire constituency of voters.

Step-by-step explanation:

Total number of letters received on the bill = 1128

Number of letters opposing the legislation = 871

However this may not be definitive pointer to the fact that majority of the voters oppose the bill. This is because the sample of voters who have written to the congresswoman may not be representative of the entire population ( which is expected to be much more than 1128). Consider the scenario where mostly those individuals who oppose the bill have sent a letter while majority of the supporters have not mailed their approval. In such a case, the numbers would provide a mistaken assumption about widespread disapproval of the bill.