---
title: Minority Rules | Trendlines by Gradient
description: A plurality of Americans (49%) prefer a direct popular voting system compared to the 29% who are faithful to election tradition.
image: https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/t/13/F70/7B3/csimport/voting_prefer_plot.170837.png
---

![](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/t/13/F70/7B3/csimport/voting_prefer_plot.170837.png)

[Brendon Ellis](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/author/brendon-ellis)2020/09/241 min read

# Minority Rules

[Previous ](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/principles-in-practice)

<https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines>

[Next ](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/the-bare-necessities)

So there’s this little election coming up in just over a month. While Americans vociferously debate, argue, and (in some cases) slug it out over the merits of their favored candidate, we designed an experiment to understand which, if any, alternative voting systems hold appeal against the centuries-old electoral college.

 

Respondents read a prompt that compared and contrasted the conventional electoral college to one of 3 alternatives used in other democracies – direct popular vote, ranked-choice, or electors by district.

 

![](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/t/13/F70/7B3/csimport/voting_prefer_plot.170837.png)

 

The electoral college doesn’t fare well when direct popular voting is on the ballot. **A plurality of Americans (49%) prefer a direct popular voting system compared to the 29% who are faithful to election tradition**. Raise your hand (oops I mean click “thumbs up” in the chat window) if you think we should just have a direct vote to banish the electoral college from the island.

 

Americans are less interested in the other alternatives. In fact, they were about as likely to prefer the electoral college when given the option between that and a ranked-choice or electors by district voting system.

 

Regardless of whether the electoral college fulfills the will of the people, there’s only one way to make certain your voice is heard. Make sure you’re [registered to vote](https://email.gradientmetrics.com/t/t-l-xnyhlk-l-x/).

![avatar](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Landing%20Page/team_photos/brendon_grayscale-1.png?width=290&name=brendon_grayscale-1.png)

[Brendon Ellis

](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/author/brendon-ellis)Brendon earned his master’s degree in Positive Organizational Psychology & Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University and is currently pursuing his PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology. He applies his background in survey research methods on a daily basis to help clients develop instruments that measure anything from attitudes and preferences to intentions and behavior.

[mailto:brendon@gradientmetrics.com](mailto:brendon@gradientmetrics.com)

## RELATED ARTICLES

<https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/minority-rules#>

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "address" : {
    "@type" : "PostalAddress",
    "addressCountry" : "",
    "addressLocality" : "Brooklyn",
    "addressRegion" : "New York",
    "postalCode" : "NY 11249",
    "streetAddress" : "325 Kent Avenue"
  },
  "email" : "hello@power.com",
  "knowsLanguage" : "en",
  "logo" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hubfs/branding/default/gradient_default_black.png"
  },
  "name" : "Gradient Metrics",
  "telephone" : "+49 (0) 89 123 456",
  "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/minority-rules"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "abstract" : "A plurality of Americans (49%) prefer a direct popular voting system compared to the 29% who are faithful to election tradition.",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Brendon Ellis"
  },
  "dateModified" : "July 20, 2022 6 PM",
  "datePublished" : "September 24, 2020 7 AM",
  "headline" : "Minority Rules",
  "image" : "https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/t/13/F70/7B3/csimport/voting_prefer_plot.170837.png",
  "inLanguage" : "en",
  "keywords" : "[politics]",
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "name" : "Minority Rules",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hubfs/branding/default/gradient_default_black.png"
    },
    "name" : "Gradient Metrics"
  },
  "text" : "So there’s this little election coming up in just over a month. While Americans vociferously debate, argue, and (in some cases) slug it out over the merits of their favored candidate, we designed an experiment to understand which, if any, alternative voting systems hold appeal against the centuries-old electoral college. Respondents read a prompt that compared and contrasted the conventional electoral college to one of 3 alternatives used in other democracies – direct popular vote, ranked-choice, or electors by district. The electoral college doesn’t fare well when direct popular voting is on the ballot. A plurality of Americans (49%) prefer a direct popular voting system compared to the 29% who are faithful to election tradition. Raise your hand (oops I mean click “thumbs up” in the chat window) if you think we should just have a direct vote to banish the electoral college from the island. Americans are less interested in the other alternatives. In fact, they were about as likely to prefer the electoral college when given the option between that and a ranked-choice or electors by district voting system. Regardless of whether the electoral college fulfills the will of the people, there’s only one way to make certain your voice is heard. Make sure you’re registered to vote.",
  "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/minority-rules",
  "wordCount" : "325"
}
```