Editing Majority rule (section)

== Alternatives ==
[[File:Plurality_versus_Majority.png|left|thumb|Pie charts plurality (left) and majority (right)]]
=== Plurality rules ===
A common alternative to the majority rule is the [[plurality-rule family]] of voting rules, which includes [[Instant-runoff voting|ranked choice voting (RCV)]], [[two-round plurality]], and [[first-preference plurality]]. These rules are often used in elections with more than two candidates. Such rules elect the candidate with the most votes after applying some voting procedure, even if a majority of voters would prefer some other alternative.<ref name="Tyranny" /><ref name="Proximity">{{cite journal |last1=Aubin |first1=Jean-Baptiste |last2=Gannaz |first2=Irène |last3=Leoni-Aubin |first3=Samuela |last4=Rolland |first4=Antoine |title=A simulation-based study of proximity between voting rules |date=July 2024 |url=https://hal.science/hal-04631154/}}</ref>

=== Cardinal rules ===
{{Main|Utilitarian rule|Cardinal utility|Rated voting}}

The [[utilitarian rule]], and [[Rated voting|cardinal social choice rules]] in general, take into account not just the number of voters who support each choice but also the intensity of their [[Preference (economics)|preferences]].

Philosophers critical of majority rule have often argued that majority rule does not take into account the [[intensity of preference]] for different voters, and as a result "two voters who are casually interested in doing something" can defeat one voter who has "dire opposition" to the proposal of the two,<ref>{{cite web |year=2005 |title=An Anarchist Critique of Democracy |url=http://www.thoughtcrime.org/writings/democracy.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080429224620/http://www.thoughtcrime.org/writings/democracy.html |archive-date=2008-04-29 |access-date=2008-06-09}}</ref> leading to poor deliberative practice or even to "an aggressive culture and conflict";<ref>{{cite web |year=2005 |title=What's wrong with majority voting? |url=http://seedsforchange.org.uk/free/consens#wrong |access-date=2006-01-17 |work=Consensus Decision Making |publisher=Seeds for Change}}</ref> however, the [[median voter theorem]] guarantees that majority-rule will tend to elect "compromise" or "consensus" candidates in many situations, unlike plurality-rules (see [[center squeeze]]).

=== Supermajority rules ===
Parliamentary rules may prescribe the use of a [[Supermajority|supermajoritarian rule]] under certain circumstances, such as the 60% [[filibuster]] rule to close debate in the [[United States Senate|US Senate]].<ref name=":1" /> However such requirement means that 41 percent of the members or more could prevent debate from being closed, an example where the majority will would be blocked by a minority.