Minority Voting Rights Can Maximize Majority Welfare

Michael Suk-Young Chwe

American Political Science Review, 1999, vol. 93, issue 1, 85-97

Abstract: I use Condorcet's information aggregation model to show that sometimes the best possible decision procedure for the majority allows the minority to “enforce” its favored outcome even when overruled by a majority. “Special” voting power gives the minority an incentive to participate meaningfully, and more participation means more information is aggregated, which makes the majority better off. This result can be understood as a mathematical corroboration of Lani Guinier's arguments that voting procedures can be designed to encourage minority participation, benefitting everyone.

Date: 1999
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