Q1: How do audience votes and judges' scores combine to decide who leaves?
A1: Each couple's judges score is converted to a percentage of the night's total points awarded by the panel. That percentage is added to the couple's percentage of total viewer votes received during the live broadcast window. The pair with the lowest combined percentage faces elimination.
Q2: When does voting open and close during live DWTS broadcasts?
A2: Voting opens at the start of the live East Coast episode on ABC and Disney+ and closes shortly after the final competitive dance concludes, right before the last commercial break.
Q3: Can the judges override viewer votes to save a bottom two couple?
A3: In seasons and episodes where the Judges' Save is active, the panel chooses which of the bottom two couples to keep in the competition. When the save is omitted, the pair with the lowest combined total goes home automatically.
