section_path: Versus majority
section_name: Versus majority
paragraph_text: Versus majority
  
  In international institutional law, a simple majority (also a plurality) 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 than absolute majority).
  
  An absolute majority (also a majority) is a number of votes "greater than the number of votes that possibly can be obtained at the same time for any other solution", when voting for multiple alternatives at a time
  
  A qualified majority (also a supermajority) is a number of votes above a specified percentage (e.g. two-thirds); a relative majority (also a plurality) is the number of votes obtained that is greater than any other option.
  
  Henry Watson Fowler suggested that the American terms plurality and majority offer single-word alternatives for the corresponding two-word terms in British English, relative majority and absolute majority, and that in British English majority is sometimes understood to mean "receiving the most votes" and can therefore be confused with plurality.