Absolute majority
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ferret (talk | contribs) at 00:03, August 19, 2007. It may differ significantly from current revision.
An absolute majority refers to a share of something that is greater than all the other shares put together (ie greater than half of the total).
In the context of an election, a candidate who receives more than half the potential votes (including those who do note vote) is said to have won an absolute majority. Absolute majorities are unusual in systems where voting is optional.