When members of a certain club elected a chairman, each member voted for one of the three candidates. If candidate 1 received three times as many votes as the other two candidates together and candidate 2 received nine more votes than candidate 3, which of the following can be the number of members in the club?
Choose the correct answer:
A) 24
B) 30
C) 32
D) 36
E) 40
Let x denote the number of votes for candidate 1, y the number of votes for candidate 2, and z the number of votes for candidate 3. The stem gives that x=3(y+z) and y=z+9. The number of club members =x+y+z=4(y+z)=4(2z+9)=8z+36. Because z must be a non-negative integer, the club can contain 36, 44, 52, ... members. Among the listed choices only choice D fits.   Answer: 36
<result>D</result>
When members of a certain club elected a chairman, each member voted for one of the three candidates. If candidate 1 received three times as many votes as the other two candidates together and candidate 2 received nine more votes than candidate 3, which of the following can be the number of members in the club?