Majority vote

A majority is the greater part, or more than half, of the total. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements.

"Majority" can be used to specify the voting requirement, as in a "majority vote". A majority vote is more than half of the votes cast.

A majority can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset considered. A plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset considered may consist of less than half the set's elements. This can occur when there are three or more possible choices.

In British English the term majority is 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.

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

A majority is the greater part, or more than half, of the total. For example, say a group consists of 20 individuals. In this case, a majority would be 11 or more individuals. For this group, having 10 or fewer individuals would not constitute a majority.

In parliamentary procedure, the term "majority" simply means "more than half." As it relates to a vote, a majority vote is more than half of the votes cast.Abstentions or blanks are excluded in calculating a majority vote. Also, the totals do not include votes cast by someone not entitled to vote or improper multiple votes by a single member.

Depending on the parliamentary authority used, there may be a difference in the total that is used to calculate a majority vote due to "illegal votes". Illegal votes are votes which are cast for unidentifiable or ineligible candidates or choices. In this definition, "illegal" refers to the choices made on the ballot and does not refer to the persons who cast the votes (i.e. the persons are eligible to vote).

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

In The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (abbreviated TSC), illegal votes are not included in the total and a majority vote is defined as being more than half of all eligible votes cast.

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