Readers Choice Awards Results: How the Count Works
Readers choice awards results are decided by counting the total votes each business receives in its category, then ranking those counts when the voting period closes. Metroland, which runs the Readers' Choice programme, states that winners are decided by the total amount of votes received per category. On platforms such as Locable, administrators can export the full result and see which listings each person voted for. Tiers, print dates and the published winners list then follow the organiser's rules.
By BuyVotesForContest editorial desk ยท Updated
The count behind the result
A readers choice awards result is, at bottom, arithmetic. Metroland Media Group, which runs the Readers' Choice programme in its regions, states plainly that the winners are decided by the total amount of votes received for each business per category. There is no panel of judges in that method and no weighting between categories. The business with the larger total in its category finishes ahead. That single sentence is the whole decision rule, and everything else about the result follows from it.
Timing matters as much as the arithmetic. Metroland ranks the finalists in each category by the number of votes received at the end of the voting period, which means the standing visible mid-cycle is provisional. A business that leads in week two has won nothing yet, because the ranking that produces readers choice awards results is taken once, at the close. Late surges are part of the design, and organisers who publish interim standings say so separately from the official ranking.
Everything after the close is publication rather than counting, and the organiser controls that stage as firmly as the vote itself. Once the final ranking exists, the remaining work is assigning tiers, preparing the winners list and choosing where the names appear.
- The total amount of votes received decides the winner in each category, according to Metroland's published method.
- The same total ranks the finalists when the voting period ends, not before.
- The tier a business lands in depends on where its count finishes against the others in the category.
Inside the administrator's export
What the public sees and what the organiser sees are different documents. Locable, a platform used for readers choice contests, tells its administrators that they will be able to export the results and see who voted for which listings. That is a per-vote record, not a bare leaderboard: behind each number in the public tally sits a line naming the listing it landed on.
For entrants, the practical reading is direct. The organiser can answer a question about where a count came from, because the export exists. It also means a result is not an anonymous fog: the mechanics behind readers choice awards results leave an audit trail on the platform side, and an organiser who wants to check the pattern of votes has a record to look at rather than a bare total and a hunch.
- A full export of the results, which the administrator keeps rather than publishes.
- A record of which listings each person voted for across the contest.
- A way to audit the tally after the voting period closes, using the platform's own tools.
Diamond, Platinum and Gold in one category
Readers choice results are rarely a single name. Metroland names Diamond, Platinum and Gold winners in each category, and up to the top five winners in each category may also be listed. The structure turns one ranking into a ladder: the same count that crowns one business also places several others, and the published winners list can run deeper than the top spot.
A deeper ladder also softens the sting of one number. Businesses that miss the top of the category still leave with a named, publishable placement, which is why organisers beyond Metroland copy the three-tier structure. For a reader checking a result, the tier names are the map of the count.
- The tiers come from one ranking; no separate judging round sits behind them.
- A category can therefore publish several named placements from a single count.
Print, and the Official Winners section
Publication has its own step. In regions with a daily Metroland newspaper, winners' names appear in a published Official Winners section, and a digital version is posted for readers outside the print run. The result therefore reaches two audiences on different schedules, and the print date is set by the organiser rather than by the voting clock.
The special section is a commercial product in its own right: Metroland notes that all businesses are encouraged to advertise in it. A name in print is part of a published keepsake as well as a ranked result, and the names in that section come straight from the category tallies behind the readers choice awards results.
- Businesses are encouraged to advertise in the special winners section.
- The digital version of the section is posted for readers beyond the print circulation.
The honest limits of a tally
A count is only as trustworthy as the rules around it. The organisers decide the voting period, the eligibility of listings and what happens to a disputed result; the platform decides what the tools record. Neither decision is visible in a number, which is why a bare leaderboard should be read with its rules page open beside it.
Rules also carry teeth. Organisers publish conditions for entries and votes, and a result that breaks those conditions can be corrected or voided by the organiser. The published material on the platforms described here does not list a standard penalty schedule, because each contest writes its own. What stays consistent is the direction of authority: the organiser, not the count, has the last word.
The objection a careful entrant brings is fair: a popular total is not the same as a clean one. The answer the mechanics give is procedural, not comforting. Exports exist, rules are published, and organiser review sits above both. That is the assurance the format actually offers.
- The organiser sets the voting period and can rank only inside it.
- The platform records the tally and offers the export; it does not judge disputes.
- No published rule on the organiser pages described here promises a specific outcome to any listing.
Following a results cycle yourself
A reader who wants to track a cycle can do it with the mechanics above, in the order they happen. The organiser announces the voting window, the count runs, the close triggers the ranking, tiers are assigned, and publication follows in print or online; that order is how readers choice awards results take their final shape. The steps below keep the sequence straight.
Dates, tiers and export rights differ between organisers, so treat the sequence as the constant and the specifics as variable. What does not change is the order: window, close, rank, tier, publish.
- Confirm the voting window and its close date from the organiser's own material.
- Note which tier names the organiser uses, so the published list is easy to read.
- Separate the vote close from the publication date; the two rarely fall on the same day.
| Tier | How it is decided |
|---|---|
| Diamond | The highest-ranked count in the category when the voting period closes. |
| Platinum | The next ranking below Diamond, taken from the same category tally. |
| Gold | The third tier named in the category, from the same ranking. |
| Top five | Up to the top five winners in each category may also be listed, Metroland states. |
Step by step
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Read the organiser's rules first
Find the rules the organiser published for the current cycle and confirm who counts the result and when. Metroland-style programmes state the method in a FAQ, and platform-run contests state it in the organiser's help material. If the method is not stated anywhere, that absence is itself information.
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Watch the voting window, not the standings
The ranking that matters is taken at the end of the voting period, so a mid-cycle lead is provisional by design. Note the close date and treat everything shown before it as unofficial.
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Match the result to the tiers
When names appear, check whether the organiser uses Diamond, Platinum and Gold tiers or a single winner per category. The tier structure tells you how deep the published winners list runs and where a given business finished inside its category.
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Confirm publication dates before waiting
Print sections appear on the organiser's schedule, and digital versions are posted separately. If a winners section is promised in a daily newspaper, the print date, not the vote close, is the date to watch.
Questions
How are readers choice awards results decided?
Readers choice awards results are decided by the total amount of votes each business receives in its category. Metroland states this method directly, and it ranks the finalists in each category by vote count at the end of the voting period. Platform-run contests work the same way: the platform tallies, and the organiser publishes the ranking. In the methods described here, no other judgement step sits between the count and the result.
What do Diamond, Platinum and Gold mean in a readers choice contest?
Diamond, Platinum and Gold are the winner tiers Metroland names in each category. Diamond marks the top of the category ranking, with Platinum and Gold below it, and up to the top five winners in each category may also be listed. The same count produces every tier; the tiers simply give the published winners list more depth than a single name.
Can the public see who voted for which listing?
No. The per-vote record sits with the administrator: Locable tells contest administrators they can export the results and see which listings each person voted for. That export is an organiser tool for auditing the tally, not a public document, and nothing in the published material suggests it is released alongside the results.
When do winners' names appear in the newspaper?
In regions with a daily Metroland newspaper, winners are listed in a published Official Winners section, with a digital version posted alongside. The organiser sets the publication date, and businesses are encouraged to advertise in the special section. The date to watch is the print date, not the close of voting.
Is a mid-cycle lead a promise of a win?
No. The ranking behind readers choice awards results is taken once, at the end of the voting period, and Metroland's method ranks finalists by the votes received at that point. Until the window closes, any standing shown is provisional, and late movement inside a category is an ordinary part of the format.
What happens if a result breaks the organiser's rules?
The organiser corrects or voids it. Each contest publishes its own conditions for entries and votes, and the organiser holds the export and the audit trail needed to check a disputed tally. The platforms described here record the count; they do not adjudicate disputes, and the published material does not name a standard penalty for every breach.
Sources
- help.locable.com. help.locable.com/how-to-run-a-best-of/readers-choice-contest.
- thereaderschoice.ca. thereaderschoice.ca/frequently-asked-questions/.
- thereaderschoice.ca. thereaderschoice.ca/frequently-asked-questions/.
- thereaderschoice.ca. thereaderschoice.ca/frequently-asked-questions/.
- thereaderschoice.ca. thereaderschoice.ca/frequently-asked-questions/.
This reference cannot promise any outcome in a readers choice contest, and it carries no single rule set, because each organiser writes its own. It never teaches ways to influence a count, never quotes a price and never speaks for an organiser whose rules are not shown here. Results can also change after publication, since a voided result is replaced, not erased.
A contest vote sits under two rulebooks, the platform's and the organiser's. On CuteBaby, voters get ten free daily votes that expire at midnight, and an account needs a South African mobile number. Organisers then enforce their own terms: Darley may disqualify and replace a potential winner who does not follow its rules, and the Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition disqualifies over-length entries automatically. An order for contest votes changes none of that.
Contest voting has a rhythm of its own. The Arizona State Fair includes live audience voting on every qualifying night, and the Ernie Ball contest measures online activity throughout its contest period. A count that builds across the window, from separate voters, matches that rhythm. None of this is a method for passing an organiser's checks, and an organiser can still disqualify an entry it doubts.
In the United States, the FTC says a real sweepstakes is free and decided by chance, and that a skills contest can ask you to pay to play. Canada's Competition Bureau says a purchase requirement should be prominently disclosed. Those rules govern entry to a sweepstakes or promotion, and whether paying for votes in a contest is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. No order is taken for a sweepstakes or other chance draw, for a political ballot, or for a contest whose rules bar outside votes.
The part of an order that never reaches the contest's own count is refunded once the organiser's voting has closed. America's Favorite Pet calls its dates approximate and lets its operator extend deadlines, so that moment is the organiser's to set. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded. At IODC, public votes and engagement do not by themselves decide the winners, and no refund changes how a contest weighs them.