DC>> SB> There is a reason that real-world politics count abstentions DC>> SB> along with yes and no votes. It has to be a majority vote; the DC>> SB> majority of *all* votes, including abstentions, must be either DC>> SB> yes or no.
DC>> This is not correct, at least for elections that I'm familiar with, DC>> in the USA. We count *ONLY* YES votes. You do not need a majority DC>> of all votes, you simply need more YES votes than the number of YES DC>> votes that your opponent gets. That's it. There are no NO votes, and DC>> there are millions of abstentions, which just means.... nothing.
SB>> Um, wouldn't a vote for your opponent automatically be a vote SB>> against you, or a 'no'? Just sayin...
DC> Well, in effect it would be, sort of. But, that wasn't the point. I DC> was debating your claim that in real-world politics, "no" votes and DC> abstentions are counted. They are not, because there *ARE* no "no" DC> votes. When I look at my election ballot, I can choose to vote for DC> *ONE* candidate, which is a "yes" vote. There is no choice to pencil in DC> for a "no" vote. It is NOT a majority vote to win an election. It is DC> simply a matter of getting more YES votes than your opponent(s). Which DC> is what I said there above...