The majority criterion is a single-winner voting system criterion, used to compare such systems. The criterion states that "if one candidate is preferred by a majority (more than 50%) of voters, then that candidate must win".
Some methods that comply with this criterion include any Condorcet method, instant-runoff voting, and Bucklin voting.
The majority criterion was originally defined in relation to methods which rely only on voted preference orders of the candidates. Thus, its application to methods which give weight to preference strength is in some cases disputed. Some such methods, such as the Borda count and range voting, fail the criterion under any definition. For others, such as approval voting and Majority judgment, the system may pass or fail depending on the definition of the criterion which is used.
Read more about Majority Criterion: Comparison With The Condorcet Criterion, Application of The Majority Criterion: Controversy
Famous quotes containing the words majority and/or criterion:
“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“Faith in reason as a prime motor is no longer the criterion of the sound mind, any more than faith in the Bible is the criterion of righteous intention.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)