Question

use prior knowledge and the chart above to answer the following question in the 1912 presidential election, woodrow wilson had 64 percent more of the electoral vote than any other candidate. how is that margin possible if only 42 percent of all voters chose him? most states used a winner-take-all system, which awarded wilson all of their electors even when he only won by a small margin. many of the electors chose wilson even though the voters in their states had actually chosen taft or roosevelt. many of the states did not recognize roosevelt on the ballot because he was a member of the bull moose party rather than a republican or democrat. technology had not advanced far enough to create ballot machines, so many of the states miscounted the votes.

Explanation:

The U.S. electoral college uses a winner - take - all system in most states. In this system, a candidate who wins a state (even by a small margin) gets all of that state's electoral votes. Wilson got 42% of the popular vote but won many states (via small popular vote margins in each), so he accumulated a large number of electoral votes. Option A explains this: “Most states used a winner - take - all system, which awarded Wilson all of their electors even when he only won by a small margin.” Option B is incorrect as electors are supposed to follow the state's popular vote result. Option C is wrong as Roosevelt was on the ballot as a Bull Moose Party candidate. Option D is incorrect as ballot machine technology issues don't relate to the electoral - popular vote discrepancy here.

Answer:

A. Most states used a winner - take - all system, which awarded Wilson all of their electors even when he only won by a small margin.