Awards Voting

1. Awards Voting will take place through Ballots constructed on, and administered, computed, and interpreted by, Cappies Information Services (C.I.S.).
   1. There will be one Ballot per Award Category.
   2. Each Ballot will include Candidates, who will all be Critics' Choices from Awards-eligible Participating Schools, in that Category.
      1. A Critic will only vote for Candidates in Cappies Shows for which s/he has submitted a Review.
      2. Critics must attend the school in order to vote with that school team. (If two schools, for example a boys and girls shared Catholic school) then they are either two separate teams or one combined team. The approved application determines which school or combined school a team represents
      3. When voting, a Critic may have access to his/her Post-Show Evaluation Form, and Review, for each Cappies Shows for which s/he has submitted a Review.
         1. A Critic may cast a vote notwithstanding the absence of his/her Post-Show Evaluation Form, or inaccessibility of his/her Review.
         2. A Critic may mark any Evaluation Score for a Candidate on a Ballot, and is not bound in any way by any Score marked on a Post-Show Evaluation Form.
      4. A Critic will not vote for any Category in which s/he has a personal stake in the outcome, including when a Critic:
         1. Is a named Candidate.
         2. Is an unnamed member of an Ensemble or Orchestra Candidate.
         3. Performed as a soloist, or in a duet, in a Song Candidate.
         4. Has any other circumstance that might call into question the Critic's impartiality.
2. On each Ballot, a Critic will vote in four ways.
   1. Evaluation Scores, on the same 1 to 10 scale used in the Post-Show Evaluation Forms.
      1. Each voting Critic must have a Mean Evaluation Score of not less than 4.0 and not greater than 7.0.
      2. Each voting Critic will be encouraged to have a Mean Evaluation Score of between 5.0 and 6.0.
   2. Tie-Breaks, through which the Critic will rank Candidates on the same Ballot to whom has given the same Score.
   3. Nomination Points, of which the Critic will be allocated five per Review, to be allocated among all Award Candidates, in a manner described in the C.I.S. Voting Procedures.
      1. A Critic may give only one Nomination Point to any one Candidate on a Ballot.
      2. A Critic must give one-fifth of his/her Nomination Points to Candidates in the non-performing Categories.
      3. On any Award Category ballot, a Critic may give no more than the number of Nomination Points authorized for that Program as the maximum number of Nominees per Award Category.
      4. On any Award Category ballot, a Critic may not give a Nomination Point to a Candidate whom the Critic has ranked lower than a Candidate to whom the Critic has not given a Nomination Point.
   4. Award Points, of which the Critic will be allocated one per Review, to be allocated among all Award Candidates, in a manner described in the C.I.S. Voting Procedures.
      1. On any Award Category ballot, a Critic may give no more than one Award Point.
      2. A Critic must give one-fifth of his/her Award Points to Candidates in the non-performing Categories.
      3. On any Award Category ballot, a Critic may give either one Award Point, or no Award Points.
      4. On any Award Category ballot, a Critic may not give an Award Point to a Candidate whom the Critic has ranked lower than a Candidate to whom the Critic has not given an Award Point.
3. Awards Voting will be limited to Critics eligible under the Rules.
   1. Voting eligibility will be determined based upon Review data in C.I.S., and will be presumed accurate unless the Program Director receives an email from a Critic identifying a possible inaccuracy in his/her data.
   2. No critic or team may review or vote for any Cappies show if any member of that team is a performer or crew member in the performing school.
   3. For a Cappies Show that takes place within 72 hours prior to Awards Voting, the Editor Mentor will enter attendance data immediately after the Cappies Show.
   4. The Steering Committee may authorize the Program Director to authorize Awards Voting by any Critic who has submitted less than the minimum number required for Voting eligibility, but only if:
      1. The Critic has reviewed at least 3 Cappies Shows, or two Cappies Shows in a Program that has set 3 as the minimum number for Voting eligibility, and
      2. During the final week of Cappies Shows, the Critic was unable to attend a Cappies Show for which the Critic had volunteered, because of illness, personal emergency, or other reason the Program Director deems an acceptable reason, or
      3. At any time during the Program Year, the Critic attempted but failed to attend a Cappies Show for which the Critic had volunteered, because of a Program error or other circumstance beyond the Critic's control that the Program Director deems an acceptable reason, or
      4. The Critic reviewed a Cappies Show determined by the Program Director to require additional Voting critics.
4. Prior to the Awards Voting, consistent with C.I.S. Procedures, the Program Director will enter into C.I.S. all relevant data pertaining to:
   1. Critics' Choices for Cappies Shows eligible for Awards, confirming the accurate spelling of names.
   2. Critics' eligibility for Awards Voting.
   3. Critics' Awards.
   4. The Awards eligibility of all Participating Schools.
5. Critics will vote in person, at a designated site.
   1. The Program Director will set and announce a date for Awards Voting, not later than 30 days before such date.
      1. The Program Director may authorize an alternative voting date, not more than two days before, or one day after, the main Awards Voting date, for Critics who cannot attend the other date for reasons of religious observance or Critics whose Advisors have stated a good reason for their being unable to be present at the main Awards Voting date.
      2. The Program Director may authorize alternative start times for Awards Voting.
   2. Awards Voting will take place at one location that will be equipped with on-line computers, unless the Steering Committee determines that more than one location is required.
      1. Critics will log in with confidential passwords.
      2. Critics will not consult with each other, nor be seated next to a Critic from his/her Team.
   3. In unusual circumstances, and not more than one day before or after Awards Voting, the Program Director may enable a Critic to vote absentee, in the presence of a Proctor, or while on the phone with the Program Director (or designee).
      1. This will be allowed only if any Ballot Candidates have been changed subsequent to the Critic's vote, or if a Cappies Show that may not have a sufficient number of Critic evaluators without including one or more absentee voters, or in any other circumstance authorized by the Steering Committee.
      2. A Proctor will supervise any such absentee voting, by remaining on the phone with the Critic.
6. The Program Director will select one or more Proctors to supervise Awards Voting at each location, one or more Trustees to receive the Voting Results, and one Auditor to Certify the Voting Results.
   1. Proctors and Trustees may include any Member of the Steering Committee, regardless of school affiliation, and any other person who has no current or former affiliation with an Awards-eligible school. No Proctor will have the role of Trustee.
   2. One Trustee must be either the Chair or Program Director, and all Trustees must be persons who are knowledgeable about the Awards Voting Rules, including decision rules for all Nominations and Awards. No Trustee will have the role of Proctor.
   3. The Auditor may not be a Member of the Steering Committee, must not have any current or former affiliation with an Awards-eligible school, and may be, but need not be, knowledgeable about Award Voting Rules.
   4. Prior to Awards Voting, a Proctor will learn, and become knowledgeable about, C.I.S. Voting Procedures.
   5. At the Awards Voting site, before each group of Critics starts to vote, Proctors will:
      1. Ensure that the only persons present at the Awards Voting site are Proctor(s), voting Critics, Steering Committee Members, the Web Coordinator, and any other person(s) authorized by the Program Director.
      2. Return Post-Show Evaluation Forms to Critics, for shows they attended and reviewed.
      3. Provide copies of show programs of all Awards-eligible shows, to the extent practicable.
      4. Read a statement provided by The Cappies.
   6. While Critics vote, the Proctor(s) will ensure that they vote, and that all aspects of Awards Voting take place, in the manner prescribed in the C.I.S. Voting Procedures.
   7. After each Critic votes, the Proctor(s) will confirm that the Critic's vote has been recorded.
   8. After all Critics have voted, the Proctor will review the list of Critics who have voted, to identify any Participating School that did not have at least two Critics (including Regional Team Critics) who voted, and will report any such findings to the Program Director.
7. During Awards Voting, Proctors will make a substantial effort to identify and correct any errors in the posting, and name spelling, of Ballot Candidates.
   1. During the first several rounds of Award Voting, a Proctor will ask Critics to confirm that the Critics' Choices marked on their Post-Show Evaluation Forms match what is on their Ballots.
   2. If any Critic identifies a possible error, a Proctor will identify and assemble other Critics who attended the relevant Cappies Show, to confirm the possible error.
   3. If a Ballot error is identified before any Critic has completed voting, the Program Director will make the necessary correction.
   4. If an error is identified after any Critic has completed voting, the Program Director will determine how many Critic votes may have been affected by the error, and the Steering Committee will determine whether the error should be corrected.
   5. If an error is identified, regardless whether the error is corrected or not, the Program Director will notify the Advisor of any school with a Ballot Candidate affected by the error to describe the error and the Steering Committee's decision.
   6. If an error is corrected, the Critics' Choice list should be changed immediately, to conform to the correction.
8. Upon the conclusion of Awards Voting, if any Participating School did not have at least two voting Critics, the Program Director will, through C.I.S., remove that school's Cappies Show(s) from awards consideration.
9. Critics' Choices will be posted as soon as practicable after the final groups of Critics have started to vote.
   1. If an error is identified after Critics' Choices are posted, the Program Director will correct that error.
   2. If any person is erroneously listed in Critics' Choice postings, the Program Director will notify the Advisor of the school in whose Cappies Show that person participated, identify the error, describe the Candidates who were in fact on the ballot, and explain that, by Rule, the Critics' Choice postings must be persons who were in fact Ballot Candidates.