Enemmistömenetelmissä

Enemmistömenetelmissä, often translated as "Majority Methods," refers to a category of electoral systems where the winner of an election is determined by achieving a majority of votes. This can be a simple majority, also known as a plurality, where the candidate with the most votes wins, or an absolute majority, requiring more than 50% of the votes cast.

Different types of majority methods exist. Plurality voting, commonly found in single-member districts like in the United States and the United Kingdom for parliamentary elections, is the simplest form. In this system, the candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate wins the seat, even if they do not secure a majority.

Absolute majority systems often employ mechanisms like run-off elections. If no candidate achieves over 50% of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates. This ensures that the eventual winner has the support of more than half of the voters. Another approach is the Alternative Vote (AV) system, where voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate secures an absolute majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed according to the voters' second preferences, continuing until one candidate achieves a majority.

Majority methods are often praised for their simplicity and for producing clear winners, which can lead to stable governments. However, they can also lead to "wasted votes" if a candidate receives significantly more votes than needed to win, or if a voter's preferred candidate has no realistic chance of winning. In multi-member constituencies, pure majority systems are less common.