Dancing with the Stars Season 35 voting: how to vote online and by text
Here is the complete guide to voting on Dancing with the Stars Season 35, including online rules, text codes, limits and closing times.
Dancing with the Stars Season 35 voting allows viewers to save their favorite celebrity couples by submitting ballots online and through SMS text messages during each live episode. As co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough guide the couples across the ballroom floor on ABC and Disney+, home viewers cast ballots that directly determine who stays in the competition and who faces elimination at the end of the night. As of November 6, 2026, the voting procedure remains strictly tied to the live broadcast window.
When does voting open and close?
Voting opens at 8:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. CT) right as the live simulcast begins on ABC and Disney+. According to ABC’s official voting guidelines, the window stays open throughout the performances and shuts down shortly after the final competitive routine of the evening.
Because voting occurs in real time, it is available only during the live broadcast in the Eastern and Central time zones. Viewers watching tape-delayed airings in western time zones or catching up later on demand cannot participate in voting for that week’s elimination.
In its official FAQ, ABC confirmed the timing: “Both methods of voting are open only during the initial simulcast on ABC and Disney+ in the Eastern and Central time zones. Voting will open at 8/7c and close shortly after the final competitive dance of each episode”.
How to vote online at dwtsvote.abc.com
Online voting is open to viewers who are at least 18 years old and physically located in the United States, its territories, or Canada. You do not need an active Disney+ subscription to cast a ballot online, but you must register an account and complete an email verification check.
According to instructions reported by TUKO.co.ke, the online voting process follows these steps:
- Go to the official portal at dwtsvote.abc.com while the live voting window is open.
- Sign in to your existing account, or create a new account and verify your email address.
- Choose the couple or couples you want to support and allocate your desired number of votes (up to 10 per couple).
- Click “Save Votes” before the voting window closes so your selections are counted.
How to vote by SMS text message
Viewers can also cast their ballots using mobile phones, though this method comes with geographical restrictions. SMS text voting is available only to viewers in the United States and its territories on participating wireless carriers; it is not available to viewers in Canada.
To vote via text, follow this procedure outlined by TUKO.co.ke:
- Find the designated keyword for each celebrity couple, which is displayed on screen during the live telecast.
- Text that keyword to the five-digit short code 21523 using a supported mobile carrier.
- Wait for an automated confirmation reply, which arrives after you cast your first vote for each couple.
Each text sent counts as a single vote, and you can send up to 10 texts per couple.
How many votes do you get per couple?
Viewers do not have to split a single pool of votes between multiple dancers. According to reporting from Closer Weekly, you can cast up to 10 votes per couple online and up to 10 votes per couple by text message. This setup means dedicated fans can cast a combined total of up to 20 votes for any individual couple across both methods.
You are free to give the maximum 20 votes to a single pairing, or give the maximum to multiple couples competing that evening.
How viewer votes combine with judges’ scores
At the end of each episode, audience votes are merged with the scores handed out by judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and any guest judges appearing on the panel, as DirecTV Insider confirmed. The combined totals determine the bottom couples and the eventual elimination.
What producers have not revealed is the exact mathematical weighting formula used behind the scenes to blend judges’ points and public percentages, or whether an extra guest judge alters the proportional impact of home ballots.
