VoteFair American Idol Poll Results

Done viewing results, go back to VoteFair's American Idol page

VoteFair Ranking Results calculated at www.VoteFair.org 2009-September-7 0:02

Poll title:

American Idol, Seasons 1 through 8

Question (number 1) title:

Who is your favorite, second-favorite, etc., singer?

The most preferred and most representative choice is:

Clay Aiken (season 2)

Overall popularity ranking:

Popularity	Choice	VoteFair ranking score	Traditional vote count (for comparison)
First-most popular	Clay Aiken (season 2)
Second-most popular	Kelly Clarkson (season 1)
Third-most popular	Carrie Underwood (season 4)
Fourth-most popular	David Cook (season 7)
Fifth-most popular	David Archuleta (season 7)
Sixth-most popular	Kris Allen (season 8)
Seventh-most popular	Adam Lambert (season 8)
Eighth-most popular	Allison Iraheta (season 8)
Ninth-most popular	Jennifer Hudson (season 3)
Tenth-most popular	Jordin Sparks (season 6)
11^th-most popular	Elliott Yamin (season 5)
12^th-most popular	Danny Gokey (season 8)

VoteFair representation Ranking

First-most representative choice is:	Clay Aiken (season 2)
Second-most representative choice is:	Adam Lambert (season 8)
Third-most representative choice is:	Kelly Clarkson (season 1)
Additional levels of representation were not calculated. (There may be too many questions, too many choices for this question, or too many votes, or no further calculations were requested.)

VoteFair representation ranking results should be used when more than one choice is to be selected. Why? When there are 100 voters, 51 of them can choose the first winner, so the other 49 voters deserve extra influence in choosing the second winner (instead of letting the 51 voters also choose the second winner). When should representation results be used? When a second candidate is elected to a second equivalent seat in a state legislature, or when an organization pursues a simultaneous second activity in addition to the most popular activity.

Comparison of VoteFair Ranking with other voting methods

Voting method	Winner
VoteFair	Clay Aiken (season 2)
Instant runoff	A winner cannot be identified because, in one of the rounds of voting, there is a tie among the choices with the fewest votes. (The runoff steps did not involve a single choice being eliminated in the first round.)
Majority	None of the choices has won a majority (more than half) the votes. (285 ballots ignored because they rank more than one choice as the most-preferred choice.)
Plurality	Clay Aiken (season 2) (285 ballots ignored because they rank more than one choice as the most-preferred choice.)
Condorcet	Clay Aiken (season 2)
Borda count	Kelly Clarkson (season 1) (2563 ballots ignored because they rank more than one choice at the same preference level.)

Details of plurality results

Choice	Vote count	Percentage
Clay Aiken (season 2)	2,371	39
Adam Lambert (season 8)	1,545	25
David Archuleta (season 7)	1,390	23
Kris Allen (season 8)	204	3
David Cook (season 7)	203	3
Allison Iraheta (season 8)	98	2
Danny Gokey (season 8)	57	1
Kelly Clarkson (season 1)	53	1
Jordin Sparks (season 6)	51	1
Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	50	1
Carrie Underwood (season 4)	50	1
Elliott Yamin (season 5)	50	1

(285 ballots ignored in plurality counting because they rank more than one choice as the most-preferred choice.)

Notice that the choice with the most plurality votes is not necessarily the most popular. Similarly the choice with the fewest plurality votes is not necessarily the least popular.

Data and Calculation Summary

Number of votes: 6,407

The following tally table summarizes all the preferences of all the voters. The bold underlined numbers are the ones that apply to the winning sequence.

All possible pairs of choice names	Number of votes with indicated preference
All possible pairs of choice names	Prefer X over Y	Equal preference	Prefer Y over X
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Kelly Clarkson (season 1)	2,895	944	2,568
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Carrie Underwood (season 4)	2,972	939	2,496
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = David Cook (season 7)	3,116	854	2,437
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = David Archuleta (season 7)	2,943	650	2,814
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Kris Allen (season 8)	3,023	833	2,551
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	3,088	545	2,774
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	3,081	810	2,516
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	3,063	1,002	2,342
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,052	968	2,387
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,225	995	2,187
X = Clay Aiken (season 2) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,768	980	1,659
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Carrie Underwood (season 4)	2,875	1,430	2,102
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = David Cook (season 7)	3,062	1,213	2,132
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = David Archuleta (season 7)	2,938	1,112	2,357
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Kris Allen (season 8)	2,993	1,195	2,219
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	2,945	1,036	2,426
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	3,193	1,289	1,925
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	3,470	1,400	1,537
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,507	1,423	1,477
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,608	1,232	1,567
X = Kelly Clarkson (season 1) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,939	1,217	1,251
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = David Cook (season 7)	2,724	1,222	2,461
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = David Archuleta (season 7)	2,649	1,146	2,612
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Kris Allen (season 8)	2,710	1,218	2,479
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	2,829	1,022	2,556
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	2,889	1,277	2,241
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	3,177	1,401	1,829
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,215	1,457	1,735
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,301	1,257	1,849
X = Carrie Underwood (season 4) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,774	1,255	1,378
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = David Archuleta (season 7)	2,706	1,012	2,689
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Kris Allen (season 8)	2,681	1,243	2,483
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	2,793	977	2,637
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	2,915	1,221	2,271
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	2,979	1,258	2,170
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,082	1,282	2,043
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,171	1,223	2,013
X = David Cook (season 7) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,645	1,202	1,560
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Kris Allen (season 8)	2,747	1,053	2,607
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	3,069	888	2,450
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	2,881	1,142	2,384
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	2,914	1,213	2,280
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,218	1,320	1,869
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,207	1,091	2,109
X = David Archuleta (season 7) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,789	1,102	1,516
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Adam Lambert (season 8)	3,063	972	2,372
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	2,814	1,230	2,363
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	3,020	1,259	2,128
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	3,152	1,293	1,962
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	3,240	1,211	1,956
X = Kris Allen (season 8) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,635	1,261	1,511
X = Adam Lambert (season 8) Y = Allison Iraheta (season 8)	2,748	1,188	2,471
X = Adam Lambert (season 8) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	2,771	1,120	2,516
X = Adam Lambert (season 8) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	2,724	1,147	2,536
X = Adam Lambert (season 8) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	2,849	966	2,592
X = Adam Lambert (season 8) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	2,982	1,017	2,408
X = Allison Iraheta (season 8) Y = Jennifer Hudson (season 3)	2,671	1,414	2,322
X = Allison Iraheta (season 8) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	2,758	1,481	2,168
X = Allison Iraheta (season 8) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	2,874	1,288	2,245
X = Allison Iraheta (season 8) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,281	1,329	1,797
X = Jennifer Hudson (season 3) Y = Jordin Sparks (season 6)	2,585	1,595	2,227
X = Jennifer Hudson (season 3) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	2,767	1,420	2,220
X = Jennifer Hudson (season 3) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,237	1,401	1,769
X = Jordin Sparks (season 6) Y = Elliott Yamin (season 5)	2,586	1,430	2,391
X = Jordin Sparks (season 6) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,202	1,427	1,778
X = Elliott Yamin (season 5) Y = Danny Gokey (season 8)	3,173	1,376	1,858

The highest score (which equals the sum of the bold underlined numbers, plus either tally number in any tied pair of choices) is: 201,953

Number of all possible valid sequences (without ties): 479,001,600

First sequence:

Adam Lambert (season 8)
Kris Allen (season 8)
Danny Gokey (season 8)
Allison Iraheta (season 8)
David Cook (season 7)
David Archuleta (season 7)
Jordin Sparks (season 6)
Elliott Yamin (season 5)
Carrie Underwood (season 4)
Jennifer Hudson (season 3)
Clay Aiken (season 2)
Kelly Clarkson (season 1)

Last sequence:

Kelly Clarkson (season 1)
Clay Aiken (season 2)
Jennifer Hudson (season 3)
Carrie Underwood (season 4)
Elliott Yamin (season 5)
Jordin Sparks (season 6)
David Archuleta (season 7)
David Cook (season 7)
Allison Iraheta (season 8)
Danny Gokey (season 8)
Kris Allen (season 8)
Adam Lambert (season 8)

Detailed ballot information
(The numbers indicate the choices
as listed in "First sequence" above,
a comma indicates the next lower preference level,
"&" joins choices at the same preference level,
and "x" precedes the vote count.)

1,10,12,2,9,4,5,6,7,8,11,3 x1
1,10,4,12,2,9,5,7,8,6,11,3 x1
1,10,4,2,11,8,7,5,3,9,12,6 x1
1,10,6,5,4,12,8,9,7,3,11,2 x1
1,10,7,4,3,8,9,2,11,5,6,12 x1
1,10,8,7,6,5,4,9,2,12,11,3 x1
1,10,9,4,7,12,8,6,5,2,11,3 x1
1,10,9,8,7,4,3,2,11,6,5,12 x1
1,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,11,12 x1
1,11,10,8,3,4,5,2,9,6,12,7 x1
1,11,10,9,12,5,6,7,8,2,3,4 x1
1,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,12 x1
1,11,12,4,2,10,9,8,5,7,6,3 x1
1,11,12,4,2,10,9,8,7,6,5,3 x1
1,11,12,9,2&3&4&5&6&7&8&10 x1
1,11,12,9,4,6&10,8,2,7,3&5 x1
1,11,2,12,4,5,9,6,3,8,10,7 x1
1,11,2,4,8,12,10,5,9,6,7,3 x1
1,11,4,5,9,12,2,10,7,8,6,3 x1
1,11,4,7,9,8,10,2&3,5,6,12 x1
1,11,6,8,4,12,2,9,10,5,7,3 x1
1,11,7,12,5,2,3&4&6&8&9&10 x1
1,11,8,4,10,7,3,2,5,9,6,12 x1
1,11,9,12,2,4,8,7,5,6,3,10 x1
1,11,9,12,5,8,4,2,7,3,10,6 x1
1,12,10,5,9,8,7,6,4,2,11,3 x5
1,12,10,9,4,5,6,7,8,3,2&11 x1
1,12,10,9,8,7,6,4,5,2,3&11 x1
1,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,2,3,4 x1
1,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2 x2
1,12,2,3&4&5&6&7&8&9&10&11 x1
1,12,3&4&7&9,2&5&6,10,8,11 x1
1,12,4,10,6,9,8,5,2,7,3,11 x1
1,12,4,10,8,2,5,7,9,3,6,11 x1
1,12,4,10,9,8,7,6,5,2,3,11 x1
1,12,4,2,10,3,9,7,5,8,11,6 x1
1,12,4,2,5,9,6,10,3,7,8,11 x1
1,12,4,2,9,7,3,5,6,11,8,10 x1
1,12,4,5,2,6,10,8,7,9,11,3 x1
1,12,4,5,2,6,9,7,8,10,11,3 x1
1,12,4,5,2,7,8,10,6,9,3&11 x1
1,12,4,5,6,7,8,9,2&10,11,3 x1
1,12,4,5,9,10,11,8,7,6,3,2 x1
1,12,4,5,9,7,2,6,10,3,11,8 x1
1,12,4,9,10,5,2,8,7,6,3,11 x1
1,12,4,9,5,8&10,2&6,7,3&11 x1
1,12,5,11,9,6,2,4,7,8,10,3 x1
1,12,5,2,9,4,6,10,11,7,8,3 x1
1,12,5,4,7,8,9,10,6,11,2,3 x1
1,12,5,4&8,6&7,10,2,3&9&11 x1
[Remaining ballots not listed]

Software version: 2009-Sept-7

The free VoteFair ranking service is subsidized by sales of Ending The Hidden Unfairness In U.S. Elections and The Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox, which were written by Richard Fobes, the inventor of VoteFair ranking and the programmer and writer for the VoteFair site.

Cover of Ending The Hidden Unfairness In U.S. Elections

Cover of The Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox

Done viewing results, go back to VoteFair's American Idol page

Top of Page