DWTS Voting 2020: How to Vote for Dancing With the Stars

Dancing With the Stars Time

ABC "Dancing With the Stars" Disney night airs on Monday, September 28.

Dancing With the Stars season 29 premieres on September 14, and while there are new rules and regulations in place due to COVID-19, one thing hasn’t changed: it is up to the fans watching at home to decide who stays and who goes home each week.

If you’re interested in voting for your DWTS favorites this season to keep them in the competition, here’s what you need to know:


Voting Is Available Via Text Message or Online, & You Can Vote for Your Favorite Couple Up to 10 Times Per Method

As usual, fans tuning in live at home will have two different voting methods to choose from. The first method of voting is accomplished by sending an SMS text message to the number assigned to DWTS voting, with the keyword matching your favorite couple. These are the keywords assigned for each celebrity this season:

Text AJ to 21523 to vote for AJ McLean
Text ANNE to 21523 to vote for Anne Heche
Text CAROLE to 21523 to vote for Carole Baskin
Text CHARLES to 21523 to vote for Charles Oakley
Text CHRISHELL to 21523 to vote for Chrishell Stause
Text JEANNIE to 21523 to vote for Jeannie Mai
Text JESSE to 21523 to vote for Jesse Metcalfe
Text JOHNNY to 21523 to vote for Johnny Weir
Text JUSTINA to 21523 to vote for Justina Machado
Text KAITLYN to 21523 to vote for Kaitlyn Bristowe
Text MONICA to 21523 to vote for Monica Aldama
Text NELLY to 21523 to vote for Nelly
Text NEV to 21523 to vote for Nev Schulman
Text SKAI to 21523 to vote for Skai Jackson
Text VERNON to 21523 to vote for Vernon Davis

Alternatively, you can vote on ABC.com during the voting window; be advised that you must click “Save Votes” in order to finalize your selections and allocate your votes as intended.

You are allotted 10 votes per couple, per voting method. This means that you can vote up to 20 times for your favorites if you take advantage of both voting methods. You are also able to vote for more than one couple if you have multiple pairs you want to help advance to the next round!

Votes are combined with the judges’ scores from the previous week in order to determine who stays and who goes home each week.


Voting for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Will Not Be Open the Night of the Season 29 Premiere

While September 14 marks the season 29 premiere of Dancing With the Stars and will feature the first night of performances, it is important to know that viewers will not be able to vote until the following week, beginning on Tuesday, September 22. According to the DWTS website, “Voting begins on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT where your votes will help determine which couples will continue dancing in the competition. This vote will be online at ABC.com and by SMS text. Both methods of voting will end during the last commercial break of the live ET/CT broadcast, shortly after all couples have danced.” For the rest of the season, “Online and SMS text voting will open again the following Monday when the show begins at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on September 28 and each Monday night through the finale on November 23. Both methods of voting will end during the last commercial break of the ET/CT broadcast, shortly after all couples have danced.”

Only those watching the show in the Eastern and Central time zones (for which the show airs live) will be able to vote. Due to the 3-hour time difference, those watching in the Pacific time zone will not have the opportunity to vote, as they will be watching the results each night after the elimination has already been made.


Dancing With the Stars season 29 premieres on Monday, September 14 at 8/7c on ABC.

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