A popularity contest is a real or attributed

contest CONTEST is the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy, first developed by Sir David Omand and the Home Office in early 2003 as the immediate response to 9/11, and a revised version was made public in 2006. Further revisions were publish ...

in which the sole criterion for winning is how many votes one gets, such that the winner is the most liked contestant. Although the phrase is often used disparagingly to suggest that some process is improperly based on popular appeal, the term historically referred to real contests sponsored by newspapers in late 19th century and early 20th century

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1914, the legality of these contests was challenged. A Kentucky appeals court ruled that

popularity In sociology, popularity is how much a person, idea, place, item or other concept is either liked or accorded status by other people. Liking can be due to reciprocal liking, interpersonal attraction, and similar factors. Social status can be d ...

contests did not violate the state's lottery law. Millsape v. Urban, 171 S.W. 1198
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References

Culture of the United States Journalism American English idioms {{sociology-stub