The majority loser criterion is a criterion to evaluate
single-winner voting systems.
The criterion states that if a majority of voters give a candidate no support, i.e.
do not list that candidate on their ballot, that candidate must lose (unless no candidate is accepted by a majority of voters).
Either of the
Condorcet loser criterion
In single-winner voting system theory, the Condorcet loser criterion (CLC) is a measure for differentiating voting systems. It implies the majority loser criterion but does not imply the Condorcet winner criterion.
A voting system complying wi ...
or the
mutual majority criterion implies the majority loser criterion. However, the
Condorcet criterion
A Condorcet winner (, ) is a candidate who would receive the support of more than half of the electorate in a one-on-one race against any one of their opponents. Voting systems where a majority winner will always win are said to satisfy the Condo ...
does not imply the majority loser criterion, since the
minimax method satisfies the Condorcet but not the majority loser criterion. Also, the
majority criterion is logically independent from the majority loser criterion, since the
plurality rule satisfies the majority but not the majority loser criterion, and the
anti-plurality rule satisfies the majority loser but not the majority criterion. There is no
positional scoring rule which satisfies both the majority and the majority loser criterion,
but several non-positional rules, including many
Condorcet rules, do satisfy both. Some voting systems, like instant-runoff voting, fail the criterion if extended to handle
incomplete ballots.
See also
*
Majority criterion
*
Mutual majority criterion
*
Voting system
An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
References
{{voting systems
Electoral system criteria