Announce that due to the number of entries and unexpected volume, the deciding factor of the contest would have to be decided by zaps differently--as I suggested elsewhere perhaps by withholding all zaps until after the contest is over but before it was decided. Zero out the existing zaps and treat them like they didn't happen--sucks for the people who voted but sometimes democracy rattles along in ways were recounts happen.

Yes, at the point it became clear the contest was going to be huge. Now there are people coming in who don't have the kinds of relationships in the channel that others do, perhaps. Writers come out of the woodwork for writing, since so few people ever ask them to. They are, by nature, a reclusive lot.