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:
“Our government is founded upon the intelligence of the people. I for one do not despair of the republic. I have great confidence in the virtue of the great majority of the people, and I cannot fear the result.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“If we are to take for the criterion of truth the majority of suffrages, they ought to be gotten from those philosophic and patriotic citizens who cultivate their reason.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)