Majority
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be less than half of the entire group.
For example, in a hypothetical group of 40 athletes there are:
- 15 association football players
- 10 sprinters
- 9 marathon runners
- 6 table tennis players
In this group, a majority would consist of more than half the total number of athletes, or 21 athletes. The group of all ball sport players together (15 football players + 6 table tennis players = 21) comprise a majority. However, football players, 15 in number, comprise a plurality, not a majority.
[edit] Parliamentary rules
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).
A common error is to list a majority as being "one more than half" or "fifty percent plus one". This is incorrect when there is an odd number of votes cast. When there are 51 votes cast, half is 25.5. A majority is more than 25.5, or 26; one more than half is 26.5, and since there must be at least that many votes on the winning side, and a half vote is not possible, that makes the requirement 27. It is a similar error to list a majority as "51%" or "50.1%".
The definition of "majority vote" can differ, however from one parliamentary authority to another. Robert's Rules of Order, (abbreviated RONR) defines a majority as being more than one half of the votes cast including votes cast for an ineligible candidate, or improper choice (e.g. a vote of "maybe" on a yes or no vote); these votes referred to as as "illegal votes cast by legal voters[1]." The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (abbreviated TSC) defines a majority as being more than half of the "legal" votes cast [2].
For example, assume that there votes cast for three people for an office, Mr. A, Ms. B, and Wimpy the Gerbil (who is ineligible). The vote totals are:
- Total votes cast - 20
- Mr. A - 9 votes
- Ms. B - 8 votes
- Wimpy the Gerbil (ineligible) - 3 votes
Using the definition in RONR, no candidate has a majority and no candidate is elected; 20 votes cast, a majority is (in whole numbers) is 11 and no candidate received 11. Using the definition in TSC, Mr. A is elected; 20 cast, 3 illegal, 17 legal, with a majority of legal votes cast (in whole numbers) being 9.
In politics, political voting systems, and even in parliamentary procedure in some cases, there are several different popular concepts relating to a majority:
- Simple majority
- Supermajority
- Absolute majority
- Two-thirds majority
- Relative majority
- Double majority - a majority of votes in a majority of states.
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.
[edit] References
- ^ Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th edition, 2000, pp. 387, 404
- ^ The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, 4th edition, 2001, pp. 134, 158-9
