User:David Kernow/Majority (voting)
A majority in voting need not necessarily be the highest number of votes cast in favor of a particular candidate, issue or item, i.e. a simple majority. Instead, there a number of types of majority that may be used, especially in political, legislative or other deliberative votes:
- Absolute majority, more than half of all possible votes whether cast, abstained or spoilt.
- Qualified majority, where the threshold of obtaining a [winning] majority is changed (usually raised) from being at least half the votes cast.
- Two-thirds majority, an common example of a qualified majority, where the threshold for a [winning] majority is set at two-thirds of the votes cast.
- Relative majority, the largest single group of similar votes.
- Simple majority, the most common example of a relative majority (?)
- Double majority, [a plurality and an absolute majority]
In parliamentary procedure (the "rules of order" concerning the conduct of business in a deliberative body), the term 'majority' refers to "more than half." As it relates to a vote, a majority is more than half of the votes cast (noting that an abstention is simply the refusal to vote).
These concepts are not to be confused with the concept of a majority as understood in parliamentary procedure, which is a common error. While they do have counterparts in parliamentary procedure, in it they are undefined as termed, and their discussion is beyond the scope of this article.