Sorry for the delay in getting these polls up. We had a unique situation in that we had more nominations than ever before but 76% were single nominations (only nominated 1 person) so we actually ended up with less variety in characters nominated than usual. This led to characters getting into the contest with the fewest number of nominations yet, making it harder to adjust to either a 32 or 64 Character Cup. As such, I have added it to the things to change when it comes to the nomination process next year. But that's for next year. Today we have the nominating and ranking polls. This is the most complicated process to explain of the whole shindig so if you've done this before or don't care why you're voting, skip on down to the important section and then the polls. :-P
Cup Set-Up:
In the end, I decided to go with a 62 Character Cup, so the 2 most nominated characters will have a bye in the first round. That means that they automatically go to round 2. It made more sense than doing a nominating poll of 25+ characters that received a grand total of 2 nominations each and have those winners go against the highest nominated characters in the first round. Call it a timesaver.
Ranking Polls - Characters from different shows that are portrayed by the same actor will go against each other in the first round. (Ex. Eliot Spencer will face Jake Stone in round 1). Everyone else will be placed in March Madness-style brackets based on how many nominations they received. If they had the same number of nominations (which most did due to less nomination variety), they are in the ranking polls today. Sorry for the very long polls. All of the characters in ranking polls are in the contest already. Today's polls simply assign the order they are placed in the brackets, which affects what characters they go up against.
Nominating Polls - We did have 2 shows where more than one character tied for the highest number of nominations. Therefore, for those shows, we need to choose a champion to represent in the Cup.
IMPORTANT:
1. If you don't see your favorite characters, that does NOT necessarily mean that they didn't make it. The top 8 characters and a couple others did not need ranking or nominating polls in order to place them in the contest.
2. All polls are 1 vote only no matter the length. Feel free to grouse about how mean I am in the comments. I'm with you. I'm grousing at myself too.
3. Because we are significantly behind in this contest, polls should close around 7 pm CST. That will give me time to get the prediction contest going before we need to start the actual Cup.
4. In order to irritate the internet Cheaterpants, you must log in with social media or create an account with Opinion Stage in order to vote. I know. It's ridiculous that people cheat polls that have ZERO impact on anything at all, but since they do we're trying to create the most poll integrity possible. Rules are still that you can only vote once per poll. Please be respectful of that and ensure a happy contest for all. If you have trouble signing in, please hit the comments below.
5. Speaking of comments, this is a great place to talk up your favorites. Happy voting!
