Difference between revisions of "Vote for the Girls (United States) moderator policies"

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The Vote for the Girls moderator policies are among the strictest policies among the three major Idol related web sites in America. Vote for the Girls franchise founder and webmaster Ava Zinn has maintained a moderator policy that states that a female contestant must be the primary pick of the home market of the moderator.

Moderator radius[edit]

Vote for the Girls defines a moderator's home market area as "local" if it is within a 75-mile (121 km)Template:Convert/track/abbr/Template:Convert/track/disp/Template:Convert/track/sing radius of the female contestant's hometown. Therefore, a female contestant affects any moderator on the Vote for the Girls panel where the local moderator, under normal conditions, penetrates into the 75-mile radius. These moderators are determined before the fall and spring cycles of each season, and do not change as the season progresses. Some remote primary media markets, such as Denver and Minneapolis (the home markets of Kymberly Alvaraz and Julia Passalt), may cover that entire radius, so that the local moderator would not affect any other moderators on the panel. However, in some instances a very tiny portion of a distant city's market area can be within the 75-mile radius of a different city, thus leading to local moderators well beyond the targeted area. The most notable examples are Ava Zinn and Kathy Roberts' respective long-time home markets of Fort Wayne and Milwaukee because their respective hometowns of Van Buren, Indiana in Grant County and Osceola, Wisconsin in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin contains a handful of people lies within the respective markets. Grant County, Indiana is part of the Indianapolis DMA while Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin is part of the Green Bay DMA likely because of exurb expansion with more and more immediate Indianapolis and Green Bay area employees living in Grant County and Fond du Lac County respectively and traveling to Indianapolis and Green Bay for events, notably for the respective Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers home games. Despite this, Zinn and Roberts respectively still have fans in Fort Wayne and Milwaukee.

Ava Zinn as the webmaster does allow in some cases for secondary home markets to go beyond the 75 mile radius in part to help draw fans of the web site to support female contestants. Some of these exceptions are in the home markets of Thia Tola in San Francisco and Kellie Rock in Erie, Pennsylvania where many of the moderators's secondary markets lie outside the 75 mile radius (Los Angeles and San Diego for Thia Tola and Pittsburgh and Buffalo for Kellie Rock). Others include South Bend, Indiana, primarily due to Chicago (90 miles (140 km)Template:Convert/track/abbr/Template:Convert/track/disp/Template:Convert/track/adj/ from South Bend) being the birth market of Zinn and the home market of Kathi Jameson, as southern parts of the Chicago and South Bend markets are within Marion, Indiana's 75-mile radius.

No opposing VFTG picks[edit]

Another policy to encourage the supported contestant's local support from the home moderator's market is, no other Vote for the Girls moderator can have the same primary VFTG pick chosen by the primary moderator's home market's due to VFTG rules or due to contractual obligations.


Each Vote for the Girls USA moderator's home market, is assured of at least a primary VFTG USA pick and occasionally a male contestant, which is considered the Ava Zinn version of Vote for the Worst in all competitions, one Vote for the Girls pick on each moderator's team (pink or purple).

Shared home markets[edit]

Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt, Maribel Mort, Karla Hansen, Sonia Donbar, Karly Jameson, Cathryn Swaringen, Kathi Jameson, Jacqui Fountaine, Luka Runecraft, Lanise McClannahan, Janet Webb, Kylie Dwyar, Jennifer Riva, Louis Durant, Clark Jones, Phil Allen, and Nadia Lorenzo typically defer the right of first refusal of primary VFTG picks than other moderators as the home markets of Zinn, Mort and Moffitt are in the Fort Wayne DMA; Karly Jameson and Cathryn Swaringen are in the Indianapolis DMA; Kathi Jameson and Jacqui Fountaine are in the Chicago DMA; Donbar and Jones are in the Atlanta DMA; Hansen and Jones are in the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA; Runecraft, McClannahan and Dwyar are in the Milwaukee DMA; Webb and Dwyar are in the Denver DMA; Riva and Durant are in the Los Angeles DMA; Allen and Lorenzo are in the New York City DMA likely due to the popularity of the NBA and NFL teams and (with the exception of Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Los Angles) are located in states that are in the Big Ten.


Jameson, McClannahan, Lorenzo, Donbar, Zinn, Webb, and Riva hold the right of first refusal of the primary supported female contestant in the respective Indianapolis, Milwaukee/Green Bay, New York, Atlanta, Fort Wayne, Denver, and Los Angeles markets before it is respectively offered to Swaringen, Runecraft/Dwyar, Allen, Jones, Moffitt/Mort, Dwyar and Durant. Likewise, Hansen, Delagatto, Fountaine, Moffitt, Swaringen, and Dwyar hold the second right of second refusal of the the supported contestant in question in the respective Dallas-Fort Worth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Denver markets before it is respecitvely offered to Clark Jones in Dallas, anyone on the Pruple Team North (usually Ava Zinn since she was born in Chicago and many of her long time friends are Packer fans), Kathi Jameson in Chicago, Ava Zinn in Fort Wayne, Karly Jameson in Indianapolis and Janet Webb in Denver. All of the aformenioned are at the discretion of the affected moderator/villain due to two or more moderators in New York (Nadia Lorenzo and Phil Allen), Los Angeles (Jennifer Riva and Louis Durant), Chicago (Kathi Jameson and Jacqui Fountaine), Dallas-Fort Worth (Karla Hansen and Clark Jones), Atlanta (Sonia Donbar and Clark Jones, as secondary markets), Denver (Janet Webb and Kylie Dwyar), Indianapolis (Karly Jameson and Cathryn Swaringen), Milwaukee/Green Bay (Lanise White, Lydia Delagatto, Luka Runecraft and Kylie Dwyar), and Fort Wayne (Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt and Maribel Mort). The main exception is when one of the moderators in those markets have a supported female contestant as well as when the one moderator has chosen the supported contestant as her Best of Worst pick. This policy affects only the moderator's primary home market that penetrate inside the 75-mile radius.


For this reason, if two Vote for the Girls moderators share a primary media market, their supported picks are never chosen as the same primary pick in the same competition (unless one moderator chose a supported contestant as her Best of Worst and the other as a primary pick). Otherwise, those moderators could theoretically have to ring in quickly to get the primary supported contestant. Currently, five pairs of moderators are affected by this rule, and are subject to additional rules described below:

Nadia Lorenzo and Phil Allen (New York)[edit]

In general, Phil Allen and Nadia Lorenzo never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

Jennifer Riva and Louis Durant (Los Angeles)[edit]

In general, Jennifer Riva and Louis Durant never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

Kathi Jameson and Jacqui Fountaine (Chicago)[edit]

In general, Jacqui Fountaine and Kathi Jameson never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

Karla Hansen and Clark Jones (Dallas)[edit]

In general, Karla Hansen and Clark Jones never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

Sonia Donbar and Clark Jones (Atlanta)[edit]

In general, Sonia Donbar and Clark Jones never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

Janet Webb and Kylie Dwyar (Denver)[edit]

In general, Janet Webb, Kylie Dwyar, and previously Kymberly Alvaraz never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

  • The slot requirement does not exist for Webb and Dwyar. Because Webb and Dwyar can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots unless claimed by Nadine Cole, because The Dwyar and Webb formerly resided in Denver. This is commonly known as "the Kym Alvaraz rule."
  • As with most two moderator markets, Janet Webb and/or Kylie Dwyar cannot choose a female contestant as a primary pick in the same competition due to the origin in Colorado. When both moderators have rung in for the same front-runner, one moderator will have the primary pick, while the other that rung in for the same front-runner will either get the secondary or Best of Worst pick.
  • Under current moderator rules, and in order to circumvent disputes with Webb's purple team's competing moderators and the Dwyar's pink team moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in the Denver primary market are or in states surrounding Colorado unless claimed by Nadine Cole, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season.
  • By rule, when one of the moderators have chosen a female contestant as her primary pick, the other moderator cannot pick the same female contestant as her opposing team.
    • The only window that would be available for Dwyar in that situation would be a primary pick from the Colorado Springs and Grand Junction markets, likewise with Webb in Denver. Therefore, a conflict is found in both cases.
    • One conflict can be solved by the Dwyars or Webb's Best of Worst pick while the other moderator gets the other's Best of Worst pick as a primary pick. The second conflict would have to be averted by either the Dwyar or Webb taking a leave of absence.
      • When Kymberly Alvaraz began the long-term relationship with Ava Zinn in 2015, Alvaraz became the de facto home moderator of all of Colorado and nearby Salt Lake City market, due to the Rocky Mountain's traditional status as a Dancing with the Stars hotbed, and a deal between NoSirGifts Fantasy Telvision Distribution, Zinn and Alvaraz became the exclusive home base DWTS pros Derek Hough, Witney Carson, Allison Holker, and Lindsay Arnold (all natives of the nearby Salt Lake City market) being mainstays on DWTS. This meant both Alvaraz and Zinn will have at least one supported contestant on Dancing with the Stars, from the spring of 2015 until the end of eighth season; advertising within Studios 41 (where WTOR/WXXC's newscasts are produced) and 47 (where Vote for the Girls is taped) were also included in the deal. Additionally, both Zinn and Alvaraz had whichever celebrity is paired with Derek Hough. In the seventh season, Team Ava & Kymberly earned their first "Double Victory" by default upon the unexpected withdraw of Tamar Braxton with Bindi Irwin (partnered with Derek Hough) winning the 21st season. On May 24, 2016, Team Ava & Kymberly became the first undefeated moderator in Vote for the Girls' history (with the three "Double Victories" on the ninth and tenth seasons of The Voice, fifteenth season of American Idol, and Paige van Zant clinching the female victory on the 22nd season of DWTS even though Van Zant was overall runner-up) and Alisan Porter's win on the tenth season of The Voice, Ava Zinn and Kymberly Alvaraz gained three advantages for the eighth season of Vote for the Girls. This marked the first time Derek Hough, Lindsay Arnold, Witney Carson, and/or Allison Holker would not be supported by Zinn and Alvaraz for the 23rd season of DWTS, which would be chosen by the Kylie Dwyar or Holly Everman and Perri Johnson on the pink team, or chosen by Kathi and Karly Jameson or Janet Webb on the purple team.[1] This issue was rendered moot at the start of season 9 after Zinn ended the long-term relationship with Alvaraz (Alvaraz died in August 2017).
  • If Webb or Dwyar is declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing BOTH Webb and/or Dwyar the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If Janet Webb is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, Dwyar can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.

Karly Jameson and Cathryn Swaringen (Indianapolis)[edit]

In general, Karly Jameson and Cathryn Swaringen never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

  • Swaringen and Jameson can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots, because Swaringen and Jameson are respectively from Speedway, Indiana and Marion, Indiana. When both moderators have rung in for the same front-runner, one moderator will have the primary pick, while the other that rung in for the same front-runner will either get the secondary or Best of Worst pick.
  • Under current moderator rules, and in order to circumvent disputes with Jameson's purple team's competing moderators and Swarigen's pink team moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in the Indinapolis primary market are or in states surrounding Indiana, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season.
  • By rule, when one of the moderators have chosen a female contestant as her primary pick, the other moderator cannot pick the same female contestant as her opposing team.
  • The following exceptions have been granted to this policy:
    • Starting in the web site's seventh season, there will be a number of times that Swaringen and Jameson have both primary picks from the Indianapolis markets in the competition with one moderator that rung in first and the other after. Whenever this happens, the exclusivity rule trumps the must-pick rule, resulting in a possible joint moderator victory for the site in the event should her supported female contestant win the competition.
  • Under current moderator rules, and in order to circumvent disputes with Swaringen's pink team's competing moderators and Jameson's purple team's competing moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in Indiana, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season. These female contestants that are chosen by Swaringen and/or Jameson must reside in either the Indiana side of the Chicago, Evansville or Terre Haute markets (unless respectively chosen by Jacqui Fountaine, Jenna Monroe or Danni McClannahan), Fort Wayne and the Indiana side of the South Bend-Elkhart market (unless chosen by Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt and/or Maribel Mort), the Ohio markets (Toledo, Dayton and Cincinnati, unless claimed by Donna & Tim Doogan), the Indiana side of the Louisville market (unless chosen by Sonia Donbar). By rule, when one of the moderators have chosen a female contestant as her primary pick, the other moderator cannot pick the same female contestant as her opposing team.
    • The only window that would be available for Swaringen/Jameson in that situation would be a primary pick from the state of Indiana. Therefore, a conflict is found due to eight moderators hailing from Indiana.
    • One conflict can be solved due to Indianapolis and Fort Wayne being one of Vote for the Girls' strongest markets in the following markets:
      • Evansville-based moderator Jenna Monroe's Best of Worst pick while either Terre Haute-based Danni McClannahan or Swaringen/Jameson gets Monroe's best of worst pick as her primary pick.
      • Fort Wayne-based moderators Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt or Maribel Mort gets the primary pick while the other gets the Best of Worst pick.
      • Though formerly lived in Lafayette, North Carolina-based moderator Breeanna Sorensen's Best of Worst pick while the aforementioned Danni McClannahan, Fort Wayne-based moderators Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt or Maribel Mort gets Sorensen's Best of Worst pick as her primary pick.
  • If Swaringen or Jameson be declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing BOTH Swaringen and/or Jameson the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If Cathryn Swaringen is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, Karly Jameson can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.
    • In eleventh season of America's Got Talent, Karly Jameson and her Chicago-based transgendered wife, Kathi, imported Laura Breatan's Got Talent win, which aired five days after Bretan's AGT audition.

Lanise McClannahan, Kylie Dwyar, Lydia Delagatto and Luka Runecraft (Milwaukee)[edit]

Lanise McClannahan, Luka Runecraft, Lydia Delagatto and Kylie Dwyar usually do not pick the same supported contestant, though this can mean that one of those moderators will choose a particular supported contestant. To alleviate the conflicts, either McClannahan, Runecraft, Delagatto or Dwyar must choose primary supported female contestant residing in the Milwaukee or Green Bay market, regardless of their records during the previous season.

  • The following exceptions have been granted to this policy:
    • In the fourteenth season of American Idol, Lanise McClannahan (then Lanise White) chose Lovey James from Portland, Oregon as her primary Vote for the Girls pick as she rung in first due to the fact that Lovey James auditioned in front of the judges in Kansas City at the time and was praised by Lovey's fans, at the same time Rhonda Rhodes chose Lovey James as her Best of Worst pick as Rhodes' opposing purple team moderators at the time(Zinn & Kymberly Alvaraz, Julia Passalt, and Kendra Ray) rung in before Rhodes did.
    • Starting in the web site's seventh season, there were be a number of times that McClannahan and Dwyar have both primary picks from the Milwaukee and Green Bay markets in the competition with one moderator that rung in first and the other after. Whenever this happens, the exclusivity rule trumps the must-pick rule, resulting in a possible joint moderator victory for the site in the event should her supported female contestant win the competition.
  • Under current moderator rules, and in order to circumvent disputes with Dwyar's (and later Runecraft/Delagatto's) pink team's competing moderators and McClannahan's purple team's competing moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in Wisconsin or in states surrounding Wisconsin, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season. These female contestants that are chosen by McClannahan and/or Dwyar must reside in either the Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse/Eau Claire, Madison, Wausau/Rhinelander markets (unless it is claimed by Runecraft and Delagatto), or the Wisconsin side of the Minneapolis and/or Duluth markets, unless it is chosen by Rachael Passalt. By rule, when one of the moderators have chosen a female contestant as her primary pick, the other moderator cannot pick the same female contestant as her opposing team.
    • The only window that would be available for Dwyar or Runecraft in that situation would be a primary pick from the Milwaukee market, likewise with McClannahan in Green Bay. Therefore, a conflict is found in both cases. An example of this was Queen Hilma (then Andi & Alex Peot) on The Voice 9.
  • If McClannahan, Runecraft or Dwyar be declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing all three the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If the Lanise McClannahan is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, Kylie Dwyar can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.

Ava Zinn, Alexandra Moffitt and Maribel Mort (Fort Wayne)[edit]

In general, the site's creator and host Ava Zinn, co-host Alexandra Moffitt and moderator Maribel Mort (as well as previously Mort's mother, Robyn, and longtime moderator Holly Everman) never make the same supported female contestant as her primary pick at the same time.

  • The aforementioned Lanise White and Kylie Dwyar slot requirement does not exist for Zinn, Moffitt and Mort. Because Zinn, Mort and Moffitt can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots, because Zinn, Mort and Moffitt are respectively from Van Buren, Fort Wayne and Angola, Indiana.
  • Zinn, Mort and Moffitt, unlike McClannahan and Dwyar cannot choose a female contestant as a primary pick in the same competition due to both the three residing in the Fort Wayne media market (although Zinn formerly resided in the Indianapolis market from 2010 to 2018). When both moderators have rung in for the same front-runner, one moderator will have the primary pick, while the other that rung in for the same front-runner will either get the secondary or Best of Worst pick.
  • Under current moderator rules, and in order to circumvent disputes with Zinn's purple team's competing moderators and Moffitt/Mort's pink team moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in the Fort Wayne primary market are or in states surrounding Indiana, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season.
  • By rule, when one of the moderators have chosen a female contestant as her primary pick, the other moderator cannot pick the same female contestant as her opposing team.
    • In the third season of The Voice, Zinn chose Cassadee Pope as her primary Team Blake pick at the same time Everman chose Michaela Paige. Since Paige was eliminated in the Top 12 that season, the must-vote rule trumped the exclusivity rule in this case, and with Everman now choosing Pope as her wild card pick, Ava Zinn became the winning moderator as Pope won that season.
    • In the third season of The X Factor, Everman chose Alex & Sierra as her primary pick at the same time Zinn chose RoXxy Montana. This marked the first time the web site had supported a male-female duo. After Zinn's remaining picks of Ellona Santiago and Rion Paige was eliminated in the Top 6 that season, the must-vote rule trumped the exclusivity rule in this case, and with Zinn choosing Alex & Sierra as a Best of Worst pick, Holly Everman became the winning moderator as Alex & Sierra won that season.
    • In the fourteenth season of American Idol, Everman chose Alexis Gomez from Dayton, Ohio as her primary Vote for the Girls pick as Dayton is closer to Muncie. Fans criticized Zinn for not choosing Gomez as a secondary pick as that went to Tracia Ward instead, despite Ward's home market at the time (South Bend) being roughly 170 miles from Dayton. Furthermore, Zinn had the right of first refusal as the founder and head moderator of the web site. This issue would be rendered moot when Hillary Matthewson returned to the moderator panel and joined Ward for the spring cycle of the seventh season.
    • In the thirteenth season of The Voice, Zinn chose Addison Agen as her home pick at the same time Alexandra Moffitt chose Chloe Kohanski. Moffitt "cross-flexed" Kohanski to Zinn, who would go on to become the winning moderator. The following season, Moffitt chose Christiana Danielle as her home pick. Fans praised Zinn and Moffitt due to the fact Agen and Danielle both live in the Fort Wayne market. Zinn had the right of first refusal as the founder and head moderator of the web site and decided to cross-flex Danielle to Moffitt due to Zinn's relocation from Marion to Fort Wayne.

Other exceptions[edit]

Although in close proximity, Rachael Passalt (previously Julia Passalt) and Kendra Ray are from separate media markets (Minneapolis and Des Moines), and so they can make primary picks at the same time. If one moderator chooses one particular primary female contestant to support and the other has another, both female contestants from the respective home markets are supported by the respective moderators in each market on a few occasions. However, this policy has mostly been applied only to Julia Passalt because Minneapolis is a larger market. If Passalt rings in first for a female contestant in Minnesota and Ray supports another from Iowa, both picks are valid for Passalt and Ray. For Kendra Ray, however, the Minnesota contestant cannot be chosen as a primary Vote for the Girls pick when a female contestant from Iowa is chosen at the same time as Passalt, if the latter moderator chooses the female contestant from both Minnesota and Iowa.

When Karly Jameson, Ava Zinn, and Holly Everman shared the Indianapolis market from June to November 2014 and Robyn Hurd and Ava Zinn shared the Fort Wayne market from April 2010 to May 2012, the site was more lenient on its shared media markets policies. Like Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Denver today, the the moderators would frequently choose which female contestant to support. But the site also assigned some of the supported female contestants at the same time. For example, during the ninth season of American Idol, all three moderator unanimously supported Crystal Bowersox. Likewise, during the eleventh season of So You Think You Can Dance, the site unanimously supported Valerie Rockey. The site was unable to help Bowersox get the victory during her season of American Idol and the site claimed its first ever loss on the site. However, the moderators decided to decline the loss after Rockey was announced runner-up to Ricky Ubela (of which would have been the web site's very first loss on So You Think You Can Dance since the web site introduced its Moderators' Save).

Secondary markets[edit]

The web site also designates "secondary markets," usually adjoining primary markets (generally areas within 75 miles of a moderator's home market but significantly adjacent markets) that are also required to pick the local female contestant. Generally, these secondary markets of a moderator's home market must have a nearby supported female contestant but do have the right of first refusal in the designated female contestant's home market.

Their decision on whether to support a female contestant in those secondary markets typically depends on whether the designated local female contestant's support is perceived to be the most popular in the market. For example, Louisville is adjacent to the Indianapolis market. Therefore Ava Zinn and/or Holly Everman must choose a female contestant from the Louisville area as her primary Vote for the Girls pick.

However, since there are many Nashville-based country music fans in the commonwealth of Kentucky, when a female contestant from the Nashville area is supported at the same time a said female contestant from the Louisville area, either Everman or Kellie Rock has the Nashville-based contestant while the other gets the Louisville-based contestant. Nashville is thus considered a battleground market between Zinn, Everman, and Rock.

Two-moderator secondary markets[edit]

There are rare instances where a market will have two moderators claiming their territory.

For instance, Columbus, Ohio lies roughly halfway between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, are outside the 100-mile radius for both cities (as Columbus is 160 miles between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh) and for the first two seasons of the web site, were considered a battleground market for Ava Zinn, Holly Everman, and Robyn Hurd and still is considered a battleground market in the Everman–Rock rivalry and/or Zinn–Rock rivalry. Therefore, adjacent media markets of Columbus were determined by the moderator's supported female contestant whichever show the supported contestant is competing on. If one female contestant from the Cincinnati or Dayton markets claimed by Everman and/or from the Cleveland or Youngstown markets claimed by Hurd (later Kellie Rock and Maribel Mort), both picks will be valid.

If a Columbus contestant is competing on a reality based singing program and the location of the female contestant's origin does not matter, Kellie Rock will usually support the female contestant generally east of Columbus and south of Cleveland and Youngstown while Everman (and on occasion Zinn) typically supports the female contestant generally west of Columbus. This changed with the arrival of Tim and Donna Doogan in the eighth season and Rock's death in 2016, now with virtually all of Ohio now considered to be battleground markets between Zinn, Moffitt, and the Doogans.


"Unofficial" secondary markets[edit]

Many markets serve as "unofficial" secondary markets for the site's moderators due to rooting interest in those markets. As they are not designated by the web site as official secondary markets, they technically are not required to support contestants, but will do so to please the fanbases. For example, in Wisconsin, virtually Lanise McClannahan, Jacqui Fountaine, Kylie Dwyar and Luka Runecraft are required to support a female contestant from the Green Bay and Milwaukee media markets, respectively when those contestants appear in the competitions. However, Kylie Dwyar rarely supports a female contestant from the Green Bay media market unless she has no other option. Likewise, Lanise White always supports a female contestant from the Milwaukee market if she is not prohibited from doing so by moderator rules.

As another example, Thia Tola and previoulsy Perri Johnson (on Team Holly & Perri) usually supports a female contestant from California, Oregon, and/or Washington as Johnson before her death was the only moderator in the Pacific Northwest.

Kymberly Alvaraz (and later Alvaraz's colleagues Kylie Dwyar and Janet Webb), since becoming a Vote for the Girls moderator in June 2014, also had virtually almost all of Rocky Mountain states (Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Montana) as unofficial secondary markets (Grand Junction and Colorado Springs were Kymberly's official secondary markets). Not only does all or almost all female contestants from states in the Mountain Time Zone (depending on the location) are supported by either Dwyar and/or Webb. The Fargo, North Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota media markets are closer to Minneapolis while the the entire state of Missouri and the Omaha, Nebraska market is close to Des Moines, and sometimes has a female contestant supported by either Rachael Passalt (as Minneapolis' adjacent media markets to the west are Fargo, North Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota) or Kendra Ray (due Missouri being the birth state of Ray and the Omaha, Nebraska is adjacent to Des Moines) instead. However, this rarely occurs. One such example occurred during the twentieth season of Dancing with the Stars in March 2015, as Iowa-born Chris Soules from The Bachelor & Witney Carson was initially chosen as Ava & Kymberly's pick since Carson's home media market is located in the Salt Lake City market (a formerly adjacent market for Alvaraz and has since become the home market for Nadine Cole).


Because Soules' origin is located in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa market (an adjacent market for Kendra Ray), of which according to the moderators' rules of the web site for Dancing with the Stars, the females on the Pink Team can choose as many as two male celebrities and female professionals, of which under normal circumstances the opposing transwomen moderators on the Purple Team can choose the same male celebrities and female professional; in that case, because Alvaraz (a woman) moved from the pink team to a transwomen's purple team, the aforementioned pick was only available to Zinn, Alvaraz, Ray, and Rhodes (Julia Passalt initially did not participate since she had made over $9 million in Male Moderator offers.) However, after the death of Rhonda Rhodes on March 14, 2015, the pick of Soules & Carson became a pick for the entire purple team of Zinn, Alvaraz, Rhodes, Ray, and Passalt based on the the previous season's finishes for both Zinn and Ray while Rhodes and Passalt had picks eliminated in the fourteenth season of American Idol.

However, with the arrival of Denver-based sisters Kylie Dwyar and Ann Dwyar on the Vote for the Girls Moderator panel for the eighth season, Kymberly, Kylie, and Ann will share almost all of Rocky Mountain states (Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Montana) as Salt Lake City, along with the Colorado markets of Grand Junction and Colorado Springs are declared as a secondary markets for Alvaraz and the Dwyars.

Not only does all or almost all female contestants from states in the Mountain Time Zone (depending on the location) are supported by Alvaraz and/or the Dwyars. The Fargo, North Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota media markets are closer to Minneapolis while the the entire state of Missouri and the Omaha, Nebraska market is close to Des Moines, and sometimes has a female contestant supported by either Rachael Passalt (as Minneapolis' adjacent media markets to the west are Fargo, North Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota) or Kendra Ray (due Missouri being the birth state of Ray and the Omaha, Nebraska is adjacent to Des Moines) instead. However, this rarely occurs. One such example occurred during the twentieth season of Dancing with the Stars in March 2015, as Iowa-born Chris Soules from The Bachelor & Witney Carson was initially chosen as Ava & Kymberly's pick since Carson's home media market is located in the Salt Lake City market (now the home market for Nadine Cole).

Between the rights to the female celebrities/male professionals on the purple team and the rights to the male celebrities/female professionals on the pink team, the only time Derek Hough, Lindsay Arnold, Witney Carson, and/or Allison Holker would not be supported by Zinn or Webb would be if both Hough and either Arnold, Carson or Holker are respectively the winner and runner-up, of which the following season of Dancing with the Stars would be chosen by Alexandra Moffitt, Nadine Cole or Kylie Dwyar on the pink team, or chosen by Kathi and Karly Jameson or Rachael Passalt on the purple team.

It is a stark contrast to the moderator panel rules on American Idol, X Factor, Rising Star, or even The Voice, which until the 2015 implementation of purple/pink team cross-flex picks and flexible picks, the female moderators could only carry one male contestant depending on the competition and the particular moderator's preference (typically based on appearance and vocals).

Ava Zinn has most of the markets in northern Indiana and northwest Ohio (with the exception of Michiana, which formelry belonged to Tracia Ward) as unofficial secondary markets. Lafayette, Indiana is considered an official secondary market of Ava Zinn and Breeanna Sorensen. While Holly Everman (and later Maribel Mort or Alexandra Moffitt) has most of the markets in central and southern Indiana and southwest and most of Ohio (with the exceptions of Terre Haute and Evansville in Indiana and Cleveland and Youngstown in Ohio, which respectively belongs to Jenna Monroe and Danni McClannahan). Also prior to the arrival of the Doogans, Columbus Ohio was a battleground market between Moffitt, Zinn and Mort, and thus preventing Zinn and Mort from having full control over all Ohio markets for the respective purple and pink team moderators.

"Temporary" secondary markets[edit]

An oddity of "temporary" secondary markets have occurred in Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Indiana as a result of a rooting interest in one particular moderator.

Beginning in the spring cycle of the web site's fifth season in January 2014, Kellie Rock a former Terre Haute, Indiana and Tampa news anchorwoman and Warren, Pennsylvania native, arrived on the moderator panel. Therefore, Rock was able to ask for as many Florida and Pennslvania based female contestants for the web site to support. Notable picks were Florida-based Macy Kate from Saint Petersburg, Florida and Karen Hornsby from Jacksonville on Rising Star and York, Pennsylvania-based DaNica Shirey on The Voice, the latter of whom was the last female remaining on the seventh season of The Voice and upon Shirey's elimination, the site's moderator panel used their Moderators' Save on Shirey and spare the web site another loss.

Another such occurrence happened in the web site's spring cycle of the sixth season in January 2015 where in both markets of Indianapolis and Denver where former quarterback Peyton Manning has popularity when he played for the Colts and Broncos. Kymberly Alvaraz (known as Kym Christian at the time) began dating fellow Vote for the Girls moderator Ava Zinn and became the web site's first duo moderator due to Zinn and Alvaraz being in a relationship, where in both the respective home states of Zinn and Alvaraz of Indiana and Colorado were allowed on Team Ava & Kymberly as they are able to claim as many female contestants from Alvaraz's home state of Colorado in addition to Zinn's home state of Indiana. One such example occurred during the twentieth season of Dancing with the Stars in March 2015, as Colorado-born Riker Lynch & Allison Holer was chosen as Ava & Kymberly's pick. Because Zinn and Alvaraz both chose Lynch, under normal circumstances the opposing moderators were prohibited to choose Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough as a Vote for the Girls pick due to strict family contractual restrictions imposed in 2011 by Aeverine Zinn Holdings, owner of the Vote for the Girls franchise, disallowing immediate family members serving as moderators to protect the Vote for the Girls' franchise ratings and revenue; in the case of the aforementioned pick of Lynch, DWTS judge Julianne and Derek are siblings and Riker is the cousin of both Julianne and Derek Hough. The only exception is that in a duo moderator as is the case of Zinn and Alvaraz, Team Ava & Kymberly also have Liukin and Hough as well as Lynch and Holker.

It is the same strict policy that prohibited Nermal Everman serving on the Vote for the Girls USA panel. However, the junior Everman filled in for Holly Everman for most of the fall cycle of the sixth season due to Holly Everman's suspension after her own arrests for two DUIs in 2014. This issue would be rendered moot at the start of the fall cycle of the seventh season in 2015 when the site began having duo moderators on the panel. Nermal Everman died in a car accident in Muncie, Indiana on July 6, 2015.

Like Ava Zinn and Kymberly Alvaraz, in the web site's fall cycle of the seventh season in October 2015 where in both markets of Seattle and Indianapolis where former quarterback Matt Hasslebeck has popularity when he played for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts. Perri Johnson, like Alvaraz, began dating fellow Vote for the Girls moderator Holly Everman and became the web site's second duo moderator, where as Team Holly & Perri are able to claim as many female contestants from Johnson's home markets of Seattle and San Francisco in addition to Everman's home state of Indiana.

Other information[edit]

Ava Zinn is the sole arbiter of the moderator's supported female contestants. However, the decisions are usually final after consulting with all of their local affiliates. On rarer occasions, some moderators are offered a choice of a few supported contestants for a given slot, if there is no female contestant that stands out as appropriate. In those cases, some moderators have allowed her fans to vote online for their preferred pick.


Ava Zinn, however, has the ability to override a moderator's request; Tracia Ward, for instance, rung in first for American Idol contestant Maddie Walker; she instead received Jax as Maddie Walker went to Kendra Ray due to Walker and Ray being from the Des Moines market.[2]

Flexible Picks[edit]

Since the spring cycle of the sixth season, the web site has used a "flexible pick" system for the main moderator panel of the regular competitions when there is a male Vote for the Girls pick[3]. This is because as early as the Top 6 of American Idol or the Quarter-Finals of The Voice, there are a number of the web site's supported contestants that have been eliminated or at risk of elimination (and a Vote for the Girls loss). Flex-picks ensures that all moderators have finale significance, regardless of whether or not one moderator is competing for a finale spot. Two examples of this type of flexing involved the Thia Tola on the fourteenth season of American Idol and on the eighth season of The Voice. In the first instance, the web site's male picks of Daniel Seavey and Nick Fradiani (chosen by Ava Zinn and Kymberly Alvaraz under the Alex & Sierra rule)

Zinn and Alvaraz's lone supported contestant, Nick Fradiani was saved by the American public vote while Kendra Ray's supported contestant Maddie Walker and Zinn and Alvaraz's supported contestant Adanna Duru were both eliminated with Sarina-Joi Crowe, resulting in not only Ray, Julia Passalt, and Rhonda Rhodes with any remaining picks on their teams, but the elimination resulted in a nearly all-pink team moderator Top 9 for the first time in the web site's history as six Pink Team female moderators earned immunity by default, (Tracia Ward eventually became the joint winning moderator after her pick Jax Cole finished 3rd and Fradiani's victory over the web site's Vote for the Worst pick (Clark Beckham, chosen by Clark Jones) resulted in Zinn's 11th moderator victory and the first for Ward and Alvaraz.) The next week, Zinn and Alvaraz's pick of Meghan Linsey and Tola's pick of eventual Voice season 8 winner Sawyer Fredericks, who had been projected to win based on iTunes votes; hence, the picks of Fredericks and Linsey were declared joint victories as Linsey won Can You Duet as a member of Steel Magnolia.

This system also allows primary Vote for the Girls picks that enjoy unexpected success to acquire a frontrunner spot that was not on their original picks. Home picks based on the supported female contestant and the moderator's hometown are fixed in place and cannot be changed, as are male contestants not supported by the web site, as it was in the spring of 2014 (the site supported Christina Grimmie instead of Indianapolis' Josh Kaufman as the web site declared him as a Vote for the Worst pick instead). It also increases the potential for a male and female victory in addition to to an all-female finale or even an all-female Final 2, as occurred in 2011 on the eighth season of So You Think You Can Dance, 2013 on the twelfth season of Idol and the fourth and fifth seasons of The Voice (Zinn was the only remaining moderator during the fifth season of The Voice after the eliminations of Olivia Henken, Shelbie Z, Grey, and Tamara Chaunice that were chosen by her opposing moderators, resulting in Zinn's picks of eventual Voice season 5 winner Tessane Chin and runner-up Jacquie Lee guaranteed Zinn her ninth moderator victory after the third place finish of Will Champlin, chosen by Leonard Lai).


Under the system, most of the web site's supported contestants in the affected affected competitions are on American Idol and/or The Voice will tentatively have the three, four or five female frontrunners depending on the competition. Also, the shared moderator markets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, District of Columbia, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Denver, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, moderators cannot protect supported male contestants outside the moderator's home market and the villains cannot protect female contestants outside the villain's home market.


During the last week of the season, Zinn could re-assign the web site's supported contestants as late as the semi-finals so that as many of the main moderator panelists as possible will be able to promote votes for a supported contestant that has major finale implications, and so that spots are on the line at the same time. The competition's finale is decided exclusively by either the moderator panel to use their Moderators' Save on a female contestant (either on the last remaining female contestant or based on her earlier audition); the moderator panel cannot protect or choose during the final week. This example happened in the only season of Rising Star concerning Audrey Kate Geiger (chosen by Kellie Rock) and Dana Williams (chosen by Zinn). Both Rock and Zinn had supported contestants that were previously saved by the west coast with major finale implications that could have all but eliminated the two remaining male contestants (Jessie Kinch and Austin French) contention with a victory. Instead, Geiger and Williams respectively finished third and fourth on Rising Star resulting in a loss, of which was the third of a six-competition losing streak (not counting the Moderators' Saves of Valerie Rockey and DaNica Shirey). These losses eventually lead to Zinn implementing the flexible pick format beginning in the web site's spring cycle of the sixth season.


Individual moderators on the moderator panel may make no more than four (later 10) supported male contestants on any regular competition during the season. Only the defending winning moderator(s) from the previous season can as many as five (later 7) supported male contestants per season.[3] The remaining moderators may make a maximum of 10 supported male contestants.

Beginning in the web site's seventh season, Zinn is able to "cross-flex" supported contestants between the Pink and Purple teams in the Moderator Panel as well as the Red and Blue teams on the Zinn's Villains panel, in addition to female moderator and male villians crew, allowing the site's Pink and Purple Team moderators flexibility in selecting as many as two (later 10) male contestants on her team. During the opening round from in the seventh and eighth seasons, as well as the standard Vote for the Girls picks (which are typically female contestants), in which each woman on the pink team and transwoman on the purple team (including the hosts) could use once and only once during the entire season. Making that male Vote for the Girls flex pick based on his vocals and appearance would automatically disqualify the opposing pink or purple team from making that pick and must be declared her Vote for the Worst pick, regardless of the other moderators' opinions.


The rule was implemented to prevent the web site's Vote for the Worst picks from airing during the competition, while at the same time attracting the coveted Female 18-49 demographic compared to the Male demographic, finale-potential male-female finale matchup that more fans would enjoy watching.

References[edit]