Simple Majorities with Voice but No Vote

Abstract

Oligarchic majority rules bring the voice but no vote principle into effect. We prove characterizations of the oligarchic majority rules for both fixed and unrestricted societies and a binary agenda. This is a general class of rules that includes the simple majority rule as well as dictatorships. Suitable sets of axioms identify a subsociety whose members have voice but no vote, and valid votes are aggregated by the majority rule.