Flawed System, Not Politics Helps Palin on DWTS

I did not vote for Dancing With The Stars contestant Brandy Norwood. I didn't even watch the semifinal episode. I spent the night between Fox News and MSNBC's nightly political lineups. I have never voted for anyone on DWTS, though I have had my favorites. This year they were Jennifer Grey, Kyle Massey, and yes, Brandy Norwood. I was as shocked by Brandy's elimination as everyone else, however, I take issue with those critics who claim there are political undertones. DWTS is not political. ABC's popular show is simply a competition with a flawed voting system.

Sarah Palin, DWTS contestant Bristol Palin's famous mother, has been accused of conducting a get out the vote campaign for her daughter. If this is true, so what? After all, the judges, contestants, and hosts of DWTS consistently remind viewers to vote. The problem is the voting system on DWTS that rewards popularity unevenly over talent, is easily manipulated, and lacks transparency.

The judges award points based in great part on technical skill, but their scores converted to a percentage and are then weighted evenly with the viewers votes. DWTS voting doesn't require any registration. Voters don't have to watch the show. Individuals can cast multiple votes across three platforms (phone, text and internet). The One-man one vote tenet of our American political system is non-existent on DWTS. Also, unlike in American politics, DWTS does not release official numbers of vote casts. Several Blogs have reported some fans allegedly voting 300 times and instructing others how to do so. Apparently, ABC doesn't see this as flawed even though people who do not even view the show can vote multiple times effectively tainting the results.

DWTS Executive Producer Conrad Green responded to criticisms, "It's not uncommon in the history of this show to have people with less dance experience lasting longer than people who do," he said. "It's quite rare that the person who got the highest average scores from the judges in the competition is the one who wins it."

This is fine for ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos. That show views choose amongst amateur home videos based on their opinion of what is funny and not based on any technical aspects of home video production. Judges aren't necessary. The viewer is the judge. Thankfully the season is almost over. Perhaps ABC will look at the voting system and make adjustments. Hopefully that will end all conversations about politics, DWTS, and the Palins, at least until 2012.