Absolute Majority

An absolute majority refers to a share of something that is greater than all the other shares put together (i.e., greater than half of the total).

In the context of an election, it differs from a simple majority in that a candidate who receives more than half the potential votes in an election (which includes those who do not vote) is said to have won an absolute majority. Absolute majorities are unusual in systems where voting is optional, because outside of Presidential races less than 50% of eligible voters eligible actually do vote in an election.

President George W. Bush came closer to achieving an absolute majority in 2004 than any presidential candidate in over a decade.