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:
“To say then, the majority are wicked, means no malice, no bad heart in the observer, but, simply that the majority are unripe, and have not yet come to themselves, do not yet know their opinion.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I divide all literary works into two categories: Those I like and those I don’t like. No other criterion exists for me.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)