the passing of a constitutional amendment by popular vote requires a double majority; not only must a majority of people vote for the amendment but a majority of cantons must also give their consent. This is to prevent a larger canton from foisting amendments onto the smaller ones and vice versa. United States Double majority is used in the United States for some initiative or referendum votes on issues such as a tax levy or bond. Essentially, a double majority standard applies a two-part test to a vote outcome before a measure is passed: Did a majority of registered voters turn out for the election? Did votes in favor outnumber votes against, by the required margin? If the answer to either of these questions is No, the measure fails. This mechanism is used to prevent a small group from passing spending measures that affect the entire population in order to support their pet causes, especially at an election expected to have low voter turnout. Double majorities are also frequently used in municipal annexations, wherein majorities of both the residents in the annexing territory and the territory to be annexed must support the annexation. A similar rule exists for adopting metropolitan government in Tennessee, where the referendum must pass both inside and outside the principal city. Notes References Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary, 2nd edition (2002). Europa Glossary Voting theory Legal terminology European Union legislative procedure Australian constitutional law Majority