Majority

A majority is more than half of a total. 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 a plurality (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. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset considered may consist of less than half the set's elements, if there are three or more possible choices.

Majority vote
In parliamentary procedure, the term "majority" means "more than half."

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. In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (abbreviated RONR), spoiled votes are counted as votes cast, but are not credited to any candidate. 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.

As it relates to a vote, a majority vote most often means a simple or relative majority vote, which means more "yes" votes than "no" votes. Abstentions or blanks are excluded in calculating a simple majority vote. Also, the totals do not include votes cast by someone not entitled to vote or improper multiple votes by a single member.

By contrast, an absolute majority refers to more than half of all votes, including any abstentions.

Related terms
Other related terms containing the word "majority" have their own meanings, which may sometimes be inconsistent in usage.

A "simple majority" is normally differentiated from both "absolute majority" and from a plurality in that it is more than half of votes cast, explicitly excluding abstentions. In an election with two candidates or a binary yes/no vote, and having abstention an alternative, there is always a simple majority, unless they tie. Here, simple majority is a weaker requirement than absolute majority (more than half of votes including abstentions, more than the aggregate of all other alternatives) and a stronger requirement than plurality.

An "absolute majority" means a majority of all electors, not just those who voted, in situations where "not voting" is treated as equivalent to "abstention". This usage would be equivalent to a "majority of the entire membership". The meaning of "absolute majority" and "simple majority" may have to be determined from the context in which these terms are used.

A "supermajority", or a "qualified majority", is a specified higher threshold than one half. A common use of a supermajority is a "two-thirds vote", which is sometimes referred to as a "two-thirds majority".

In parliamentary systems, an "overall majority" is the difference of legislators between the government and its opposition. In this context, the term "majority" could be also alternatively used to refer to the winning margin, i.e. the number of votes separating the first-place finisher from the second-place finisher.

A "double majority" is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. 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 favour. In some cases, the required percentage of member states in favour is increased to 72%.

Examples
For example, assume that votes are cast for three people for an office: Alice, Bob, and Carol.

Scenario 1
In Scenario 1, Alice received a majority of the vote. There were 20 votes cast and Alice received more than half of them.

Scenario 2
In Scenario 2, assume all three candidates are eligible. In this case, no one received a majority of the vote.

Scenario 3
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 using this book. In this case, there are 16 votes for eligible candidates and Alice received more than half of those 16 votes.

Comparison to plurality
In all three scenarios, Alice received a plurality, or the most votes among the candidates. However, only in Scenario 1 did Alice receive a majority vote using Robert's Rules of Order.

Temporary majority
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 required to rescind, repeal or annul or amend something previously adopted by a majority vote; if previous notice has not been given, a two-thirds vote is required. 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.

Application in other voting requirements
"Majority" could be specified with respect to the voting body.

"Majority of the entire membership" and "majority of the fixed membership"
A "majority of the entire membership" means more than half of all the members of a body. A "majority of the fixed membership" means more than half of all the seats of a body. A majority of the entire membership is different from a majority of the fixed membership when there are vacancies.

For example, say a board has 12 seats. If the board has the maximum number of members, or 12 members, a majority of the entire membership and a majority of the fixed membership would both be 7 members. However, if there are two vacancies (so that there are only 10 members on the board), then a majority of the entire membership would be 6 members (more than half of 10), but a majority of the fixed membership would still be 7 members.

"Majority of the members present"
A "majority of the members present" means more than half of the members at the meeting. If 30 members were at a meeting, a majority of the members present would be 16. In any situation which specifies such a requirement for a vote, an abstention would have the same effect as a "no" vote.

A vote of a "majority of the members present" is not the same as a "majority vote". When unqualified, a "majority vote" is taken to mean more than half of the votes cast. If 30 members were at a meeting, but only 20 votes were cast, a majority vote would be 11 votes.

Common errors
The expression "at least 50% +1" is sometimes used when "majority" is actually intended but this is incorrect when the total number referred to is odd; instead, a majority means "over 50%". For example, say a board has 7 members. "Majority" means "at least 4" in this case (more than half of 7). 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 use to refer to a majority is the 50+1 rule.