The number of people who voted in the most recent local election was up from the last local election by about 24%. Therefore the number of people who voted in this election was how many times the number who voted in the last election

The number of people who voted in this election was 1.24 times the number who voted in the last election

Step-by-step explanation:

The multiplier for a increase of a% is 1 + a/100.

The multiplier for a decrease of b% is 1 - b/100.

In this question:

Up by about 24%, so we want the multiplier for a increase of 24%.

So

1 + (24/100) = 1 + 0.24 = 1.24

The number of people who voted in this election was 1.24 times the number who voted in the last election