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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

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

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

Ava Zinn, Holly Everman, Thia Tola, Perri Johnson Lanise White, Kymberly Alvaraz and the Dwyar sisters (Ann and Kylie) typically defer the right of first refusal of primary VFTG picks than other moderators as the home markets of Zinn and Everman are in the Indinaapolis DMA; Tola and Johnson are in the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland DMA; White and Ann Dwyar are in the Milwaukee DMA,; Alvaraz and Kylie Dwyar are in the Denver DMA likely due to the popularity of the respective Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and Denver Broncos. Everman, Tola, and the Dwyars hold respective the right of first refusal of the primary supported female contestant in the respective Indianapolis, San Francisco, Milwaukee and Denver markets, before it is offered to Zinn, Johnson, White, and Alvaraz respectively at the discretion of the affected moderator due to two moderators each in the Indianapolis (Zinn and Everman), San Francisco (Johnson and Tola), Milwaukee (Ann Dwyar and White), and Denver (Kylie Dwyar and Alvaraz) markets. 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:

Lanise White and Ann Dwyar (Milwaukee)

Lanise White and Ann 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 White 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, 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 (Zinn & Kymberly Alvaraz, Julia Passalt, and Kendra Ray) rung in before Rhodes did.
  • Starting in the web site's seventh season, there will be a number of times that White and Roberts 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 pink team's competing moderators and White'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 White and/or Dwyar must reside in either the Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse/Eau Claire, Madison, Wausau/Rhinelander markets, 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 in that situation would be a primary pick from the Milwaukee market, likewise with White in Green Bay. Therefore, a conflict is found in both cases.
• If White or Dwyar be declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing BOTH White and/or Roberts the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If the Lanise White is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, Ann Dwyar can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.

Ava Zinn and Holly Everman (Marion/Muncie)

In general, the site's creator Ava Zinn 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 Kathy Roberts slot requirement does not exist for Zinn and Everman. Because Zinn and Everman can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots, because Zinn and Everman are respectively from Van Buren and Muncie, Indiana.
• Both Zinn and Everman, unlike White and Roberts cannot choose a female contestant as a primary pick in the same competition due to both Zinn and Everman residing in the Indianapolis media market. 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 Everman's pink team moderators, it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in the Indianapolis 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 Paiger 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

Tracia Ward and Kathi Jameson (Chicago)

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

• Like with Ava Zinn and Holly Everman in the shared Indianapolis market, and unlike the aforementioned Lanise White and Kathy Roberts slot requirement that does not exist, for Ward and Jameson can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots, because Ward and Jameson are respectively from South Bend, Indiana and Joilet, Illinois. 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 (Zinn, Alvaraz, Passalt, White, and Ray) and Ward's pink team moderators (Roberts, Rock, Tola, and Everman), it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in the Chicago primary market are or in states surrounding Illinois, 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 Ward and Jameson have both primary picks from the Michiana and Chicagoland 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 Ward's pink team's competing moderators (Everman, Rock, and Roberts) Jameson's purple team's competing moderators (Zinn, Alvaraz, Passalt, and Ray), it is necessary for both moderators to be given at least one prime supported female contestant in Illinois and parts of Milwaukee, regardless of the moderators' performances in the previous season. These female contestants that are chosen by Ward and/or Jameson must reside in either the Illinois side of the Chicago, Evansville or Terre Haute markets (unless chosen by Ava Zinn, Kellie Rock and/or Holly Everman), the Michigan side of the South Bend-Elkhart market (unless chosen by Ava Zinn and/or Tracia Ward), the Wisconsin markets (Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse/Eau Claire, Madison, Wausau/Rhinelander), or the Wisconsin side of the Minneapolis and/or Duluth markets, unless it is chosen by Julia 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 Ward/Jameson in that situation would be a primary pick from the Chicago market, likewise with Ward in South Bend. Therefore, a conflict is found in both cases.
  • One conflict can be solved by Ward or Jameson'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 Ward or Jameson taking a leave of absence.
    • This actually occurred following Jameson's termination in the sixth season before she was reinstated in the seventh season's spring cycle with Ward participating.
• If Ward or Jameson be declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing BOTH Ward and/or Jameson the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If Tracia Ward is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, Kathi Jameson can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.

Kymberly Alvaraz, Ann Dwyar, and Kylie Dwyar (Denver, Colorado)

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

• The slot requirement does not exist for Alvaraz and The Dwyars. Because Alvaraz and The Dwyars can choose any Vote for the Girls home pick slots unless claimed by Ava Zinn, because The Dwyars and Alvaraz are from Denver.
• As with the Zinn and Everman, Kymberly Alvaraz, Ann Dwyar and/or Kylie Dwyar cannot choose a female contestant as a primary pick in the same competition due to both Alvaraz and the Dwyar sisters' 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 Alvaraz's purple team's competing moderators and the Dwyars' 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, 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/Alvaraz in that situation would be a primary pick from the Colorado Springs and Grand Junction markets, likewise with Alvaraz in Denver. Therefore, a conflict is found in both cases.
  • One conflict can be solved by the Dwyars or Alvaraz'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 Dwyars or Alvaraz 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 means both Alvaraz and Zinn will have at least one supported contestant on Dancing with the Stars, beginning in the spring of 2015; advertising within Studios 41 (where WTOR/WXXC's newscasts are produced) and 47 (where Vote for the Girls is taped) are also included in the deal. Additionally, both Zinn and Alvaraz will have 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 will gain 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 Dwyars or Holly Everman and Perri Johnson on the pink team, or chosen by Kathi and Karly Jameson on the purple team.^[1]
• If Alvaraz or the Dwyars are declared the winning moderator, the site may take advantage of the opportunity by allowing BOTH Alvaraz and/or Dwyar the option from the opposite winning moderator's team at the beginning of the following season. If Kymberly Alvaraz (with Ava Zinn) is the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars, the Dwyars can possibly participate in the following season's DWTS.

Other exceptions

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 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

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

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 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, Everman, Mort and Doogan.

"Unofficial" secondary markets

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 White and Kathy Roberts are required to support a female contestant from the Green Bay and Milwaukee media markets, respectively when those contestants appear in the competitions. However, Kathy Roberts and previously Rhonda Rhodes rarely supported 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 Perri Johnson (on Team Holly & Perri) usually supports a female contestant from California, Oregon, and/or Washington as Tola and Johnson are the only moderators in the Pacific Northwest.

Kymberly Alvaraz, 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 are 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 Alvaraz. 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 Julia 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 (an adjacent market for Alvaraz).

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 Julia 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 (an adjacent market for Alvaraz and the Dwyars).

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 and Alvaraz 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 Kylie and Ann Dwyar or Holly Everman and Perri Johnson on the pink team, or chosen by Kathi and Karly Jameson or Julia 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 belongs to Tracia Ward) as unofficial secondary markets. Lafayette, Indiana is considered an official secondary market of Ava Zinn. While Holly Everman 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 belongs to Kellie Rock and Danni McClannahan). Also, Columbus Ohio has become an battleground market between Everman, Zinn and Rock, and thus preventing Zinn and Rock from having full control over all Ohio markets for the respective purple and pink team moderators.

"Temporary" secondary markets

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

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

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.

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