Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

DodgerWalker t1_j4veewq wrote

Reply to comment by PassionatePossum in [OC] What if the UK used the German electoral system? by Yodoliyee

I was so confused until I remembered that in the UK, the word “majority” means what we call a “plurality” in the US. I take it that absolute majority means more than half in this context, which is what we Americans just call a majority, while simple majority means the most, which Americans call a plurality.

7

vwma t1_j4vu620 wrote

I think you misunderstood the comment. In political science both "absolute majority" and "simple majority" are what you would commonly refer to as "majority".

The difference is that a simple majority is defined as 50%+1 vote of all votes cast, whereas an absolute majority is 50%+1 vote of all possible votes

Edited: I re-read the comment, he used the wrong term, and should've said plurality instead of simple majority. I hope this now makes sense now.

2

PassionatePossum t1_j4vgudl wrote

My mistake. I probably translated the terms a little too directly from German to English. But you are right, that’s what I meant.

1