Aplurality vote (inNorth American English) orrelative majority (inBritish English)[1] describes the circumstance when aparty,candidate, orproposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast.[2]
For example, if from 100 votes that were cast, 45 were forcandidate A, 30 were forcandidate B and 25 were forcandidate C, thencandidate A received a plurality of votes but not a majority. In some election contests, the winning candidate or proposition may need only a plurality, depending on the rules of the organization holding the vote.[3]
In international institutional law, asimple majority (also aplurality) is the largest number of votes cast (disregarding abstentions)among alternatives, always true when only two are in the competition. In some circles, a majority means more than half of the total including abstentions. However, in many jurisdictions, a simple majority is defined as more votes than half cast, excluding abstentions, are required. Thus, it is a stronger requirement than plurality (yet weaker thanabsolute majority).[4][5]
Anabsolute majority (also amajority) is a number of votes "greater than the number of votes that possibly can be obtained at the same time for any other solution",[a] when voting formultiple alternatives at a time[6][b]
Aqualified majority (also asupermajority) is a number of votes above a specified percentage (e.g. two-thirds); arelative majority (also aplurality) is the number of votes obtained that is greater than any other option.
Henry Watson Fowler suggested that the American termsplurality andmajority offer single-word alternatives for the corresponding two-word terms in British English,relative majority andabsolute majority, and that in British Englishmajority is sometimes understood to mean "receiving the most votes" and can therefore be confused withplurality.[1][c]
a number of votes that is more than the number of votes for any other candidate or party but that is not more than half of the total number of votes