Why can a voter with more votes have the same power as a voter with fewer votes?

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A colorful payoff matrix for a normal form game in game theory, showing strategy options-support, oppose, evade-for both party A and party B. Each cell contains cartoon figures representing each party's action and lists percentage payoffs for A and B. The bottom-right cell is labeled saddlepoint, highlighting the equilibrium. — game theory Table 1
The normal-form table illustrates the concept of a saddlepoint, or entry, in a payoff matrix at which the expected gain of each participant (row or column) has the highest guaranteed payoff.

In game theory, a voter with more votes can have the same power as one with fewer votes because voting power is not determined by the number of votes cast, but by the ability to cast a critical vote—a vote that changes the outcome of a decision.1

Voting power is measured by how frequently a player’s support is necessary for a coalition to win. For example, in a voting body with three members holding 3, 2, and 2 votes respectively (where a simple majority wins), each member is critical in the same number of minimal winning coalitions. Consequently, the 3-vote member possesses the same power as each 2-vote member, despite having 50 percent more weight.1

This discrepancy occurs because votes per se may have little bearing on outcomes. When rules require specific thresholds, some voters may become "dummies"—possessing votes that can never influence the result—while others may hold disproportionate influence regardless of their nominal vote count.1