Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2010 > July > 06 > Entry

Austin’s Zach Anner unofficial top vote-getter in Oprah contest

With 9,161,042 votes, Austinite Zach Anner is the top vote-getter in Oprah Winfrey’s online contest to find a new show and host on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network). The tally is subject to official verification, but Anner is nearly a million votes ahead of his nearest competitor, Dr. Phyllis, a teacher from Tampa, Florida.

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Anner, the self-proclaimed “wheelchair-bound lady magnet” with cerebral palsy (he calls it “the sexiest of the palsies”) charmed Internet voters — including musician John Mayer — with his humorous, self-deprecating submission for a travel show. A bit of controversy followed when Dr. Phyllis briefly (and suddenly) overtook Anner in the tally, sparking suspicions of voting shenanigans.

The win, if confirmed, does not guarantee Anner a show, but any placement in the top five sends him to Los Angeles for the next round of auditions, in which he will compete for one of ten slots in a reality competition that will decide the winner.

Here’s Anner’s winning submission:

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Entertainment, Local people on TV

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By Dale Roe

July 9, 2010 3:39 PM | Link to this

Hi Chris! We noticed that too and we're trying to get an official word. We'll keep you posted. The good news is that Zach is moving on in the competition.

By Chris

July 9, 2010 3:32 PM | Link to this

There is a huge discrepancy with the final tally of votes for Zach, about 3.5 million, and what it should be, about 9.2 million according to his individual profile page. Are there any public announcements explaining this?

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