Madison

Madison may refer to:

People

Place names

Madison, Wisconsin is the state capital of Wisconsin.

Madison also refers to other U.S. place names:

Majority rule

Majority rule is a decision rule that selects alternatives which have a majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary decision rule used most often in influential decision-making bodies, including the legislatures of democratic nations.

Some scholars have said that majority rule is the only reasonable decision rule that is "fair" and that it helps to protect minority rights, at least in settings in which deliberation occurs.

Others have recommended against the use of majority rule, at least under certain circumstances, due to an ostensible trade-off between the benefits of majority rule and other values important to a democratic society. The use of supermajoritarian rules and constitutional limits on government power has been recommended to mitigate these effects.

Distinction with plurality

Though plurality (first-past-the post) is often mistaken for majority rule, they are not the same. Plurality makes the option with the most votes the winner, regardless of whether the fifty percent threshold is passed. This is equivalent to majority rule when there are only two alternatives. However, when there are more than two alternatives, it is possible for plurality to choose an alternative that has fewer than fifty percent of the votes cast in its favor.