See also
Look up majority in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A majority is more than half of a total. [1] It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a group consists of 31 individuals, a majority would be 16 or more individuals, while having 15 or fewer individuals would not constitute a majority.
A majority is different from, but often confused with, a plurality, [note 1] which is a subset larger than any other subset but not necessarily more than half the set. For example, if there is a group with 20 members which is divided into subgroups with 9, 6, and 5 members, then the 9-member group would be the plurality, but would not be a majority (as they have less than ten members).
In parliamentary procedure, a majority always means precisely "more than half". Other common definitions (e.g. the frequent 50%+1) are incorrect. [1] : 4
Depending on the parliamentary authority used, there may be a difference in the total that is used to calculate a majority vote due to spoiled votes. [2] In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (abbreviated RONR), spoiled votes are counted as votes cast, but are not credited to any candidate. [2] In The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (abbreviated TSC), spoiled votes are not included in the total and a majority vote is defined as being more than half of all eligible votes cast. [3]
As it relates to a vote, a majority vote most often means a simple majority vote, which means more "yes" votes than "no" votes. [4] [5] Abstentions or blanks are excluded in calculating a simple majority vote. [1] : 6 Also, the totals do not include votes cast by someone not entitled to vote or improper multiple votes by a single member. [2]
Other related terms containing the word "majority" have their own meanings, which may sometimes be inconsistent in usage. [6]
In British English, the term "size of a majority", "overall majority", or "working majority" is sometimes used to mean the difference between the number of legislators in the government and a simple majority of seats (half the seats, rounded up). [7] This has led to some confusion and misuse of the terms "majority" or "relative majority" to mean what is correctly called the margin of victory, i.e. the number of votes separating the first-place finisher from the second-place finisher. [8]
A "double majority" is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. [6] e.g. in the European Union, the Council uses a double majority rule, requiring 55% of member states, representing at least 65% of the total EU population in favor. In some cases, the required percentage of member states in favor is increased to 72%. [9]
A "supermajority" is a specified threshold greater than one half. [6] A common use of a supermajority is a "two-thirds vote", which is sometimes referred to as a "two-thirds majority".
The voting basis refers to the set of members considered when calculating whether a proposal has a majority, [10] i.e. the denominator used in calculating the percent support for a vote. Common voting bases include:
For example, assume that votes are cast for three people for an office: Alice, Bob, and Carol. In all three scenarios, Alice receives a plurality, or the most votes among the candidates, [19] but in some she does not receive a majority.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Alice | 14 |
| Bob | 4 |
| Carol | 2 |
| Total | 20 |
In Scenario 1, Alice received a majority of the vote. There were 20 votes cast and Alice received more than half of them.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Alice | 10 |
| Bob | 6 |
| Carol | 4 |
| Total | 20 |
In Scenario 2, assume all three candidates are eligible. In this case, no one received a majority of the vote.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Alice | 10 |
| Bob | 6 |
| Carol (ineligible) | 4 |
| Total | 20 |
In Scenario 3, assume that Alice and Bob are eligible candidates, but Carol is not. Using Robert's Rules of Order , no one received a majority vote, which is the same as Scenario 2. In this case, the 4 votes for Carol are counted in the total, but are not credited to Carol (which precludes the possibility of an ineligible candidate being credited with receiving a majority vote). However, using The Standard Code , Alice received a majority vote since only votes for eligible candidates are counted. In this case, there are 16 votes for eligible candidates and Alice received more than half of those 16 votes.
A temporary majority exists when the positions of the members present and voting in a meeting of a deliberative assembly on a subject are not representative of the membership as a whole. Parliamentary procedure contains some provisions designed to protect against a temporary majority violating the rights of absentees. For instance, previous notice is typically required to rescind, repeal or annul something previously adopted by a majority vote. [20] However, in this and many other cases, previous notice is not required if a majority of the entire membership votes in favor, because that indicates that it is clearly not a temporary majority. Another protection against a decision being made by a temporary majority is the motion to reconsider and enter on the minutes, by which two members can suspend action on a measure until it is called up at a meeting on another day. [21]
The expression "at least 50% +1" is often misused when "majority" is actually intended. [1] : 4 However, this is incorrect when the total number referred to is odd. For example, say a board has 7 members. "Majority" means "at least 4" in this case (more than half of 7, which is 3.5). But 50% + 1 is 4.5, and since a number of people can only be integer, "at least 50% + 1" would mean "at least 5". An example of the expression's misuse to refer to a majority is the 50+1 rule.
Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which the candidate in an electoral district who poll more than any other are elected.
The two-round system, also called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a voting method used to elect a single winner. In the United States, it is often called a jungle or nonpartisan primary. It is sometimes called plurality runoff, although this term can also be used for other systems.
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, under which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, convenes together for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a jurisdiction represented by an elected official are called "constituents", and the constituents who choose to cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called "voters." There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater to proportional representation can only be used in elections.
Block or bloc voting refers to a class of electoral systems where multiple candidates are elected simultaneously. They do not guarantee minority representation and allow a group of voters to ensure that only their preferred candidates are elected. In these systems, a voter can select as many candidates as there are open seats. That is, the voter has as many votes to cast as the number of seats to fill. The block voting systems are among various election systems available for use in multi-member districts where the voting system allows for the selection of multiple winners at once.
A motion or vote of no confidence is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly as to whether an officer is deemed fit to continue to occupy their office. The no-confidence vote is a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the executive's mandate rests upon the continued support of the majority in the legislature. Systems differ in whether such a motion may be directed against the prime minister, against individual cabinet ministers, against the cabinet as a whole, or some combination of the above.
A plurality vote or relative majority describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast.
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the legislature. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, enabling a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support or consent of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral legislatures, the term relates to the situation in the chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government.
The Senate is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. The presiding officer of the Senate is the president of the Senate, who is elected by the members at the first sitting after each national election.
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises at times when action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote. In consensus democracy the supermajority rule is applied in most cases.
In social choice theory, the majority rule (MR) is a social choice rule that says that, when comparing two options, the option preferred by more than half of the voters should win.
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by marking it wrongly or by not marking anything at all. A "blank voter" has voted, although their vote may be considered a spoilt vote, depending on each legislation, while an abstaining voter has not voted. Both forms may or may not, depending on the circumstances, be considered to be a protest vote. Abstention is related to political apathy and low voter turnout.
The majority favorite criterion is a voting system criterion that says that, if a candidate would win more than half the vote in a first-preference plurality election, that candidate should win. Equivalently, if only one candidate is ranked first by a over 50% of voters, that candidate must win. It is occasionally referred to simply as the "majority criterion", but this term is more often used to refer to Condorcet's majority-rule principle.
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector casts a single vote for his or her chosen candidate. However, if no candidate is supported by an overall majority of votes then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and a further round of voting occurs. This process is repeated for as many rounds as necessary until one candidate has a majority.
Deliberative assemblies – bodies that use parliamentary procedure to arrive at decisions – use several methods of voting on motions. The regular methods of voting in such bodies are a voice vote, a rising vote, and a show of hands. Additional forms of voting include a recorded vote and balloting.
Block plurality voting is a winner-take-all method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The usual result when the candidates divide into parties is that the most popular party in the district sees its full slate of candidates elected.
Instant-runoff voting (IRV), also known as ranked-choice voting or the alternative vote (AV), combines ranked voting together with a system for choosing winners from these rankings by repeatedly eliminating the candidate with the fewest first-place votes and reassigning their votes until only one candidate is left. It can be seen as a modified form of a runoff election or exhaustive ballot in which, after eliminating some candidates, the choice among the rest is made from already-given voter rankings rather than from a separate election. Many sources conflate this system of choosing winners with ranked-choice voting more generally, for which several other systems of choosing winners have also been used.
A referendum to amend the Constitution of Liberia was held on 23 August 2011. Voters chose whether to ratify four amendments regarding judge tenure, elections scheduling, presidential candidate requirements and the electoral system. The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) oversaw the referendum.
In the United States, a contingent election is used to elect the president or vice president if no candidate receives a majority of the whole number of electors appointed. A presidential contingent election is decided by a special vote of the United States House of Representatives, while a vice-presidential contingent election is decided by a vote of the United States Senate. During a contingent election in the House, each state delegation votes en bloc to choose the president instead of representatives voting individually. Senators, by contrast, cast votes individually for vice president.
Mixed-member majoritarian representation (MMM) is type of a mixed electoral system combining winner-take-all and proportional methods, where the disproportional results of the winner-take-all part are dominant over the proportional component. Mixed member majoritarian systems are therefore categorized under semi-proportional representation, and are usually contrasted with mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) which aims to provide proportional representation compensation ("top-up") seats.
The word majority means "more than half"; and when the term majority vote is used without qualification—as in the case of the basic requirement—it means more than half of the votes cast by persons entitled to vote, excluding blanks or abstentions, at a regular or properly called meeting.
