two-thirds rule

[too-thurdz]

noun

1. a former rule in the Democratic Party, effective 1832–1936, requiring a vote of at least two thirds of its national convention delegates to nominate a presidential and vice-presidential candidate.

Example Sentences

Under the new two-thirds rule, that will be raised to 10 out of 15 jurors.

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The union approved its 2018 UPS contract under the two-thirds rule even though it was opposed by a majority of the members who cast a vote.

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Mr. Hoffa said that his hands were tied by the rule but that it also served a purpose: “We’re going to see how they’re going to be able to ratify contracts without the two-thirds rule,” he said.

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Ken Paff, a longtime leader of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, said Mr. O’Brien built credibility with the group by pushing for these reforms at the Teamsters convention this year, where many of them were adopted, including abolition of the two-thirds rule.

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Mr. Vairma, the Hoffa-backed candidate for president, supported some of the reform measures as well, including ending the two-thirds rule, and seemed to try to seize the reformist mantle himself at times during the campaign.

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