What Is a Double Majority? EU Council, Switzerland, Clubs

A double majority is a voting rule under which a proposal passes only if it wins two different majorities at the same time. Usually one is a majority of people (voters, citizens, members) and the other a majority of units (states, cantons, regions, member organisations). The rule exists to balance large and small: neither the most populous units alone nor a coalition of small units alone can decide.

The two best-known examples in Europe are qualified majority voting in the Council of the European Union and the ‘people and cantons’ requirement in Swiss referendums.

Double majority in the Council of the EU

Since 1 November 2014, most decisions in the Council of the EU are taken by qualified majority defined as a double majority. Under Article 16(4) of the Treaty on European Union, a qualified majority requires:

Condition	Threshold
Member states	at least 55 % of Council members, comprising at least fifteen of them
Population	those states represent at least 65 % of the EU population
Blocking minority	at least four Council members

With 27 member states, 55 % means at least 15 states. The blocking-minority rule prevents three large states from stopping a decision on population weight alone. When the Council does not act on a proposal from the Commission or the High Representative, a higher ‘reinforced’ threshold of 72 % of members applies (Article 238(2) TFEU).

This system replaced the earlier weighted votes. A similar 55 %/65 % formula had already been written into the Constitutional Treaty of 2004, which never entered into force; the Treaty of Lisbon took it over.

Double majority in Swiss referendums

Swiss federal votes on constitutional amendments and certain international commitments go to a mandatory referendum. They pass only with a majority of the people (Volksmehr) and a majority of the cantons (Ständemehr), as set out in Articles 140 and 142 of the Federal Constitution.

• The result in each canton counts as that canton’s vote.
• Six cantons (formerly called half-cantons) count as half a vote each, so there are 23 cantonal votes in total.
• Popular initiatives, which always propose constitutional amendments, also need both majorities.

Because small rural cantons weigh the same as large urban ones, a proposal can win the national popular vote and still fail. This has happened several times, for example with a high-profile popular initiative in 2020. Optional referendums on ordinary federal laws need only the popular majority.

For how referendums work in other European countries, see referendums in Europe.

Other examples

• Australia: amendments to the federal constitution must be approved by a national majority of voters and by a majority of voters in a majority of the states.
• Federations and umbrella bodies: many sports federations and professional bodies with member associations combine a majority of member organisations with a majority of individual or weighted votes.
• Companies: some decisions need both an overall majority and a majority within a particular class of shares.

Worked example: an umbrella association

Invented example for illustration. A regional federation has five member clubs with different membership sizes. Its rules say a motion needs (1) a majority of all individual delegate votes and (2) a majority of member clubs.

Club	Delegate votes	Yes	No	Club majority
North	40	30	10	Yes
East	12	4	8	No
South	10	3	7	No
West	8	2	6	No
Centre	10	6	4	Yes
Total	80	45	35	2 of 5

The motion wins the delegate vote (45 to 35) but fails the club majority (2 of 5). Without the second condition, the largest club could have carried it almost on its own. That is the protective effect of a double majority, and also its cost: a determined group of small units can block.

When a double majority makes sense

• Your organisation has members of very different sizes whose interests need balancing.
• The decision affects the structure of the organisation itself, such as its constitution or fees between member bodies.
• You want to avoid domination by one large member without giving every unit a veto.

Points to settle in writing:

1. Which two bases count (people, units, weighted votes)?
2. Which threshold applies to each (simple, absolute, qualified)?
3. How is each unit’s position determined (majority of its delegates, a single block vote)?
4. How do ties within a unit count?

General definitions of majorities, abstentions and quorum are on the page majority and quorum. For the history of votes on EU treaties, see EU treaty referendums.