Q.Special majority = 2/3 present+voting AND simple majority of total membership. Worked class-of-57 example. Find where else 'special majority' appears in this book.

The special-majority rule combines two separate thresholds, and both have to be checked against the actual numbers in the example. …

The rule. A special majority requires: (i) two-thirds of the members present and voting, AND (ii) a simple majority (more than half) of the total membership of the House — both conditions have to be satisfied together, not just one.

Applying it to the worked example. Total class strength = 57. On the day of voting, 51 are present, and 50 actually vote (one present member abstains, say).

• Two-thirds of those voting: two-thirds of 50 = 33.33. Since votes are whole numbers, the resolution needs at least 34 votes in favour to clear this threshold (33 would fall short of two-thirds).
• Simple majority of total membership: more than half of the full class of 57 = more than 28.5, i.e. at least 29 votes in favour.

Both conditions must hold simultaneously. Here, 34 votes in favour comfortably clears the total-membership threshold of 29 as well (34 > 29), so the binding constraint in this example is actually the two-thirds-of-those-voting rule, not the total-membership rule — but both are always checked, since in a different scenario (for instance, low turnout) the total-membership threshold could end up being the tougher one to clear instead. …