Supermajority rule gave southern Democrats an effective veto over any presidential nominee for many years, until the rule's abolition at the 1936 Democratic National Convention. A majority vote, or more than half the votes cast, is a common voting basis. Instead of the basis of a majority, a supermajority can be specified using any fraction or percentage which is greater than one-half (i.e., 50%). It can also be called a qualified majority. Common supermajorities include three fifths (60%), two thirds (67%), and three quarters (75%). A two-thirds vote, when unqualified, means two-thirds or more of the votes cast. This voting basis
Rule of thirds (diving) stops before being able to ascend safely to the surface. A diver without gas cannot do the stops and risks decompression sickness. In an overhead environment, where it is not possible to ascend directly to the surface, the reserve allows the diver to donate gas to an out-of-gas buddy, providing enough gas to let both divers exit the enclosure and ascend to the surface. Rule of thirds (diving) In scuba diving, the rule of thirds is a rule of thumb used by divers to plan dives so they have enough breathing gas remaining in their diving cylinder at the end