Supermajority

From Free net encyclopedia

A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority in order to have effect. For example: in some jurisdictions, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority requirement (such as a two-thirds majority). Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. A supermajority is absolute if the required percentage or fraction is based on the entire membership rather than on those present and voting.

The European Union Council of Ministers, in order to balance the interests of small and large member states, uses a qualified majority system for its decision-making.

The United States Senate requires a supermajority of 60 percent to move to a vote through a cloture motion, which closes debate on a bill or nomination, thus ending a filibuster by a minority of members.

The United States Constitution requires a supermajority of two-thirds of both houses of Congress to propose a Congress-driven constitutional amendment; it also requires a three-quarters supermajority of state legislatures for final adoption of any constitutional amendment, as well as a two-thirds supermajority to pass a bill over the president's veto.

Two-thirds majority

A two-thirds majority is a common supermajoritarian requirement in elections, especially whenever minority rights can be changed (e.g. constitutional amendments). There are two kinds of two-thirds majority: the simple or the absolute. The term is a variation of the term (used in Robert's Rules of Order) - a two-thirds vote.

A two-thirds majority means that the number of votes for a proposition or candidate must equal or exceed twice the number of votes against it. If unqualified, two-thirds majority by itself always means simple two-thirds majority.

As an example, consider the case of a hypothetical papal election in which only 100 cardinals vote of the 120 who are eligible. The results are that Cardinal A had 67 votes, Cardinal B had 20 votes, and Cardinal C had 13 votes. Cardinal A in this case has a simple two-thirds majority.

An absolute two-thirds majority means that two-thirds of the entire membership of a body or more must agree to the proposition. It is much stronger than a simple requirement. In the above case, if it required an absolute two-thirds majority of the 120 cardinals that can vote, then Cardinal A would not win, since he then would need 80 votes.

See also

• Qualified Majority Voting
• List of democracy and elections-related topics
• Absolute majority
• Minoritarianism
• Pluralityde:Zweidrittelmehrheit

nl:Gekwalificeerde meerderheid ru:Конституционное большинство sv:kvalificerad majoritet