Last try, I promise.
If a school has 200 pupils and half are boys and half are girls, then 50% of the student body are boys and 50% are girls. 50% means one-half or 1 divided by 2.
If 40% of the student body participate in an activity [call the activity 'voting'] and the numbers of boys and girls in that activity are virtually identical, then 40% of the boys participated, in this case that would be 40 boys; and 40% of the girls, another 40 children, participated. This does not add up to 80% participation, because the math operation of averaging has to take place
40% + 40% divided by 2 = 40% of the total 200 kids = 80 kids.
40 boys and 40 girls participated.
I am getting dizzy!! I get it tho I think...