Editing Majority (section)

=== Related terms ===
Other related terms containing the word "majority" have their own meanings, which may sometimes be inconsistent in usage.<ref name="schermers">{{Cite book |last1=Schermers |first1=Henry G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMXToQLp21UC&pg=PA562 |title=International Institutional Law: Unity Within Diversity |last2=Blokker |first2=Niels M. |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=978-90-04-18798-6 |edition=Fifth Revised |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=561–563 |author-link1=Henry G. Schermers |author-link2=Niels Blokker}}</ref>

In [[British English]], the term "majority" is used to mean the difference in votes between the first-place candidate in an election and the second-place candidate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-mayoral-election-2024-results-in-full-b2539669.html |title=London Mayoral Election 2024: Results in full|work=The Independent|access-date=5 May 2024|quote="Labour's Sadiq Khan secured just over 1,088,000 (43.8%) votes to be re-elected London Mayor, a majority of some 275,000 over Conservative rival Susan Hall, who secured just under 813,000 (32.7%) votes."}}</ref> The word "majority", and the phrases "size of a majority", "overall majority", or "working majority", are also used to mean the difference between the number of votes gained by the winning party or candidate and the total votes gained by all other parties or candidates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/majority|work=Merriam-Webster|title=Majority|quote="1b: the excess of a majority over the remainder of the total: margin"|access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="longman-overall-majority">{{cite web |title=Overall Majority |url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/overall-majority |access-date=2009-04-26 |work=Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English |publisher=Longmans}}</ref> In American English, "majority" does not have this meaning; the phrase [[wikt:margin_of_victory|margin of victory]], i.e. the number of votes separating the first-place finisher from the second-place finisher, is typically used.<ref name="majority-dictionaries">Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' at [[mwod:majority|Merriam-Webster]], [https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/majority dictionary.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221102100/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/majority|date=2015-12-21}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130524150957/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/majority Oxford English Dictionary], [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/majority thefreedictionary.com], and [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/majority Cambridge English Dictionary].</ref>

A "[[double majority]]" is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria.<ref name="schermers" /> 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%.<ref>{{cite web |date=2024-01-11 |title=Qualified majority |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=European Council, Council of the European Union |publisher=European Council}}</ref>

A "[[supermajority]]" is a specified threshold greater than one half.<ref name="schermers" /> A common use of a supermajority is a "[[two-thirds vote]]", which is sometimes referred to as a "two-thirds majority".

A "[[Plurality (voting)|plurality]]" or "relative majority" is achieved when a candidate or other option polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast. 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 eleven members).