Doesn’t Ex. 23:2 say that one SHOULDN’T follow a majority?
The plain interpretation of Ex.23:2 is that one shoudn’t follow a majority to do evil or to pervert (le-hatos) the law. The Talmud’s explanation of the verse (Sanhedrin 2a) is as follows: “From the fact that it says ‘You shall not follow a majority to do evil’ I can conclude that one should follow it to do good. If so, why does it say ‘[Do not…] incline (le-hatos) after a majority’? [To teach us that] inclining for good [i.e., acquitting] is not like inclining for evil [i.e., convicting]; acquittal requires only a majority of 1, but conviction requires a majority of 2 [i.e., a simple majority isn’t sufficient].” The Talmud derives the principle of following the majority from that verse; see also Chulin 11a.