LSAT Question Explanation
PT 108, Section 2, Question 3
WeakenArgument structure
We should implement a ban on publishing polls in the week prior to an election.
Polls can influence election decisions and distort election outcomes. If a poll is released right before an election, no one will be able to criticize/respond to it before the election. Also, a ban on publishing polls in the week prior to an election is a minimal violation of freedom of expression.
Explanation
This argument seems decent on first read, but if we consider it carefully there are some problems with the logic. First of all, who is being influenced to change their vote in the last week before an election? I feel like most people already know who they're going to vote for, in which case this ban on last minute polls wouldn't actually affect many decisions.
Also, the last piece of evidence says that the ban would only minimally infringe upon freedom of expression. But what if that's unacceptable? What if any infringement on freedom of expression is so bad that it outweighs potential benefits? Then we certainly shouldn't implement the ban.
The correct answer choice for a weaken questions will often address a flaw in the argument, and by doing so will weaken the conclusion.
Answer choices
This would certainly weaken that we should implement the ban, because the polls being released in the last week before the election aren't actually influencing people's decisions.
This says that publishing polls will not harm uneven elections. If the polls would be bad for other elections, then the the ban may be useful and the author's argument may still be valid. So this doesn't weaken the argument.
If anything this would strengthen the argument by showing that polls can influence voting behavior.
This strengthens the idea that last minute polls can be influential by saying some upstart candidate could gain more recognition in the last week.
This doesn't weaken because it doesn't give us any reason not to implement the ban. Maybe countries with the ban have elections that are less influenced by last minute polls.