Our judging is a little more complicated than adding up all the tallies for each essay. Each judge votes for a specific essay for a specific prize (first, second, third, fourth, or honorable mention) in each age range. Each one is assigned a point value, with a first-place vote earning more points than a second- or third-place vote. A judge can also choose to vote "none of the above" for a particular category, meaning that the judge doesn't think any entries merit that prize.
What this means, then, is that "none of the above" can win a prize category, if it receives the most points. This outcome can happen for two general reasons:
We don't like to see either of these things happen, of course, but are particularly saddened when the latter happens. Some things that can help prevent it from happening include reading over our web site to make sure you understand what we mean by freedom, investing some effort into drafting and then polishing a well-crafted essay, and carefully proofreading the essay (spell-checking on the computer is not a substitute for proofreading!) before sending it to us. The ideas are what's most important to us, but if they're poorly expressed they will not help advance the cause of freedom, and that's one reason why we hold this contest.
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URL: http://www.lrt.org/essaycontest/ec6.nowinner.html