It’s no secret that Key West is one of the most popular destinations in the world. And to further enforce this point, the popularity of the Bubbas: Key West People’s Choice Awards continues to expand across the globe.
As the three finalists in each category await the announcement of winners on July 23, the official Bubbas polls closed at midnight on Monday, July 11, with over 400,000 votes placed across our 90+ categories. That’s an increase of 50,000 votes from 2021.
Moreover, votes poured in from all corners of the globe, including every continent outside of Antarctica (we pledge to get at least one vote from our friends at the South Pole next year). For now, we’ll proudly hang our hat on the fact that the Bubbas have become recognized in nations ranging from New Zealand and Malaysia to Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Here is a logistical overview of voting in the 2022 Bubbas: Key West People’s Choice Awards:
ALL 50 STATES in the U.S. participated in the Bubbas, including voters in Alaska and Hawaii.
OVER 10,000 VOTES came from the state of Florida, with 80% of those in South Florida.
124 BALLOTS came from Anchorage, Alaska.
9 EUROPEAN NATIONS were represented in the Bubbas, with 39 votes coming from areas in northern Italy, like Udine.
19 UKRAINIAN BALLOTS were cast from the great nation under siege by Russian forces, with many of those coming from areas enduring massive ground and air attacks. (The Bubbas were created for fun and this sobering perspective was not lost on our team.)
THE NORTHERNMOST VOTES came from a small town in Finland called Kalajoki, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The other, on almost an identical line of latitude, came from Fairbanks, Alaska.
THE SOUTHERNMOST BALLOT came from the small town of Burnham, New Zealand.
TWO UNKNOWN BALLOTS were cast off the eastern coast of Japan near remote islands in the North Pacific Ocean. Our only guess is that our U.S. military personnel might have been in the area. But even if we knew, we couldn’t tell you.
ONLY ONE VOTE came out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is ironic, considering this is one of the most populated cities in the world. But hey, we’ll take the one!
SHOUTOUT to Bridgetown, Australia, where two ballots were cast deep in the southwest regions of the continent.
NOT CENSORED, YET. China got in on the action, with votes coming from outside of Liaocheng, in an area called Yanggu County Shandong.
THE MOST REMOTE vote might have come from the Botcha Nature Reserve in Russia, near the Sikhote-Alin mountain range. This is also home to their endangered Amur Tiger. We’d like to believe a tiger cast a ballot.
