DWTS voting results: when Dancing with the Stars reveals them and what ABC shows
DWTS voting results are revealed during the ABC broadcast: Dancing with the Stars combines live viewer votes with the judges' scores each episode. ABC's statement of Season 34 totals gives 72 million votes in the finale and just under half a billion across the season, and no figure for any single couple. The elimination turns on that combined result, not on the viewer total alone.
Compiled by BuyContestVotesNow editorial desk / Checked
DWTS voting results tonight: from 8 p.m. ET to the last dance
A Dancing with the Stars window has a start and no fixed clock end. USA Today's live updates say voting opens when the show begins at 8 p.m. ET and closes after the last competitive dance of the evening, and Yahoo Entertainment adds that fans can begin voting at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central, right as the episode begins.
The close follows the running order, not the clock. Yahoo Entertainment says the voting window closes shortly after the last performance, so the duration of a window depends on the episode. ABC's press notes list Viral Hits Night on Tuesday, September 22, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. EDT and PDT, and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. CDT.
The reported deadline is an event, the last competitive dance, rather than a clock time. A banner on ABC's voting page read: live two-night season premiere continues, tonight at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+. Results tonight arrive inside that broadcast, since ABC has said the live vote combined with the judges' scores is revealed during it.
Last week: the Week 2 result from Viral Hits Night on September 22
For a reader on September 30, 2026, last week means Week 2, Viral Hits Night, which ABC's press notes place on Tuesday, September 22. The notes say live viewer votes from the night are combined with the judges' scores to determine who is in jeopardy of elimination.
USA Today's live updates name the result: based on the combination of judges' scores and viewer votes, the couple eliminated on Week 2 was Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten. The Detroit Free Press lists their salsa at 12 out of 30 points, marked eliminated.
USA Today's line and the Free Press's listing each state a name, and the listing adds a score; neither states a count of votes. The counts ABC has published are totals for the Season 34 finale and the full season, and neither is a weekly figure, so how many votes the show got last week cannot be read from any ABC total.
The numbers ABC publishes: a finale total and a season total
ABC's statement for Season 34 carries two numbers: 72 million votes in the finale and just under half a billion across the season. Both figures describe the show as a whole.
Both figures are aggregates. A finale total measures the audience's response on the last night and a season total measures it across the run; neither says how any couple fared.
The statement leaves the usual questions unanswered: how many votes one couple received, what share a couple held, and how one week compared with another. The Independent reports the allowance per fan, at most 20 per couple, which bounds what a single fan adds and nothing more.
Totals also differ from results. A result ranks couples on a combined score, while a total counts everything cast; ABC's statement carries the second, and the broadcast carries the first. In the comparison table, the only counts sit on the two Season 34 rows, and both are aggregates.
A live tracker or leaderboard: what ABC says about the reveal
ABC's sentence on the reveal names one venue: the live vote combined with the judges' scores will be revealed during the broadcast. The sentence mentions no tracker, no standings page and no real-time count.
Casting is live, and The Independent says so in its own words: ballots go in online at the official Dancing with the Stars site or by SMS text message during the live voting window. That liveness covers casting, not publishing: nothing in ABC's sentence says a running tally is shown while the window is open.
The judges' scores are the half of the standings a reader can point to. Week 2's 12 out of 30 for Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten, as the Detroit Free Press lists it, is a judges' number, while ABC's sentence describes the viewer half as a component of the combined result.
Viewer votes plus judges' scores: how the combined result decides
ABC states the method in one sentence: live viewer votes are combined with the judges' scores each episode to determine which couples are at risk of elimination.
What happens next is described two ways. In the season ABC's announcement covers, the judges decide which couple facing elimination stays at the end of the evening. USA Today's Week 2 live updates describe the celebrity with the combined lowest number of votes and judges' scores being eliminated, and name Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten as the couple sent home.
The two accounts come from different publishers and, as written, differ. Which rule applies in a given season is ABC's to state.
Either way the viewer vote is one input beside the judges' scores. ABC's sentence does not say how the two are weighted, so no share of the result can be assigned to the fans.
Replays, caps and flags: which votes count and what stays unsaid
The Independent reports the rules that decide whether a ballot counts, and the FAQ on ABC's voting site is the organiser's own page for them.
The Independent also says fans may back several couples, so the caps bind per couple, not per fan.
None of this describes detection. The reported limits, 10 per couple per method and nothing cast during replays, say nothing about how a fake vote is found or what follows a breach, so the organiser alone decides what is flagged or disqualified. Nobody outside ABC can say whether a particular ballot was flagged.
- Replays: nothing cast during a replay or a later viewing counts, The Independent reports.
- Caps: up to 10 per couple per voting method, per ABC as Yahoo Entertainment relays it, for a maximum of 20 per couple: 10 online and 10 by text message.
- Routes: the official Dancing with the Stars site or SMS text message during the live window.
| Item | What is stated | Count or percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly result | Live vote combined with judges' scores, revealed during the broadcast (ABC) | None stated |
| Season 34 finale | 72 million votes in the finale (ABC) | Aggregate count |
| Season 34 full season | Just under half a billion votes across the season (ABC) | Aggregate count |
| Week 2 elimination | Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten eliminated on the combined tally (USA Today) | None stated |
Fast answers
How many votes did Dancing with the Stars get?
ABC reported 72 million votes in the Season 34 finale and just under half a billion across the season. Those are totals for the show; ABC's statement gives no count for any single couple.
How many votes did Dancing with the Stars get last week?
ABC's published counts are the Season 34 finale and full-season totals, neither of which is a weekly figure. For Week 2 on September 22, USA Today names the couple eliminated on the combined tally, Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten.
How many DWTS votes do you get?
The Independent reports a maximum of 20 per couple, split as 10 online and 10 by text message. Yahoo Entertainment relays ABC's note that fans can vote up to 10 times per couple, per voting method.
When are DWTS voting results revealed?
ABC has said that, with each subsequent episode, the live vote combined with the judges' scores is revealed during the broadcast. Voting opens when the show begins at 8 p.m. ET and closes after the last competitive dance, USA Today reports.
Do viewer votes alone decide who leaves Dancing with the Stars?
No. ABC says live viewer votes are combined with the judges' scores each episode to determine which couples are at risk of elimination, and USA Today describes the lowest combined total going home.
Can you vote for Dancing with the Stars after the show?
No. The Independent reports that casting is not allowed during replays or later viewings and runs online or by SMS text message during the live voting window.
Where do Dancing with the Stars voting standings appear?
ABC's sentence on the reveal names one venue, the broadcast, and mentions no tracker, standings page or real-time count. The judges' scores are the half of the standings a reader can point to.
How does ABC detect a fake DWTS vote?
The limits The Independent and Yahoo Entertainment report, 10 per couple per method and no casting during replays, say nothing about how a fake vote is detected. The organiser alone decides what is flagged or disqualified.
References
- abc.com. abc.com/news/092e1418-e453-4b5c-900e-4b0b73a18690/category/1074633.
- abc.com. abc.com/news/a70edcb7-2d8b-4674-b182-e8965e4160f9/category/1074633.
- abc.com. abc.com/news/2bd622e9-a6cc-400e-8e06-9799cecaa773/category/1138628.
- usatoday.com. usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv-streaming/2026/09/22/dancing-with-the-stars-live-updates-viral-hits-night-week-2--live/91894195007/.
- usatoday.com. usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv-streaming/2026/09/22/dancing-with-the-stars-live-updates-viral-hits-night-week-2--live/91894195007/.
Only ABC can publish a vote count, and no figure here is an estimate. ABC alone decides which votes are valid, when results are revealed and whether a figure is released. A result cannot be checked early, sped up or changed by anyone outside the show, and a fan site's tally is not ABC's count.
Each organiser's own terms decide which votes are valid, and an organiser can void votes or disqualify an entry. ITV's Love Island terms limit each registered mobile number to one vote per voting event and rule out any method the terms do not state. America's Got Talent asks voters to register and accept its official voting rules, with a cap of ten votes per act, per voting method, per voting window. The American Music Awards decided each winner by the total of valid votes in the category.
Organisers write an ordinary voter down in numbers. The American Music Awards allowed up to 30 votes per award per day on each voting platform, the NASCAR All-Star Race fan vote allowed five a day per unique email address, and the iHeartRadio Music Awards allowed 50 a day per category. A crowd of separate voters stays inside limits like these and arrives day by day, with busier days when an organiser opens a boost. This describes how organisers count; it is not a way around a check.
We give no legal advice and cite no statute: the terms that bind a fan vote are the organiser's own, and they fix who may vote. Dancing with the Stars online voters must be at least 18 and in the United States, its territories or Canada; Love Island USA voting is open to US residents aged 18 or older, or with parental permission. We refuse member-only ballots such as the ACM Awards, categories an organiser decides itself, as MTV did with Best Video, and any vote for public office.
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The part of a request that is not delivered before the organiser's voting closes is refunded. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded, because the organiser decides all three. Nor is a vote's worth inside the format covered: the MLB All-Star ballot did not carry Phase 1 totals into Phase 2, and at The Game Awards fan voting is one tenth of the vote that decides winners.