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
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