Supermajority

A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half. The threshold of one-half is used for a simple majority, which is sometimes expressed as a "50%+ 1 vote". Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises at times when action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. In consensus democracy, the supermajority rule is applied in most cases.