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Re: Updated proposed ballot for the constitutional amendment (clarification of section 4.1.5)



On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 12:36:57 -0400, Anthony DeRobertis <asd@suespammers.org> said: 

> On Tuesday, Oct 14, 2003, at 05:53 US/Eastern, Manoj Srivastava
> wrote:
>>> As i understand it, a majority is 50% +1, while anything else is a
>>> super-majority. There is no such thing as a 75% majority or a 60%
>>> majority. These are super-majorities, since they are clearly more
>>> than a majority.
>>
>> Then your understanding is incorrect.
>>
>> 2. The greater number; more than half; as, a majority of
>> mankind; a majority of the votes cast.  [1913 Webster]

> So, then, 51% would be enough, but proposals A and C require
> 3:1. That's more than a majority; hence, supermajority.

	Does no one look at definitions any more? A 51% supermajority,
 or a 99% supermajority, are both majorities, and equally valid.

	A supermajority is merely a majority where you explicitly
 state how much the major part has to be compared to the whole (like,
 50.0001% super majority) 

> More important than arguing over definitions is, I think,
> consistency. Let's just pick one of the words for the GR. Using both
> words makes the reader wonder if there is a sane reason to do so,
> and he starts trying to figure out how a "3:1 majority" is different
> from a "3:1 supermajority". It seems to be fairly normal and
> expected to used the same word consistently in technical and legal
> documents (unlike novels, for example). I suggest we do so.

	Well, kinda late in the game, no? The discussion period
 started 2 weeks ago, and this was immediately preceded by *MONTHS*
 where contributions and critiques were invited.

	manoj
 thinking about consistency and hobgoblins
-- 
When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him--that's where the
money is. Robespierre
Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org>  <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
1024R/C7261095 print CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05  CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E
1024D/BF24424C print 4966 F272 D093 B493 410B  924B 21BA DABB BF24 424C



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