Voting in Tony Awards

The rules and regulations of The Tony Awards, set by the Tony Administration Committee, are only valid for one specified year and are liable to change at any time.

There are currently twenty six categories of nominees each year; each of these categories have been added at different time periods since the beginning of the Tony Awards in the year 1947. The way voting works has changed over the years; when the Tony Awards started in the year 1947, only members of the different boards of American Theatre Wing and entertainment industry performer and craft unions were allowed to vote on the nominees. Then, in the year 1954, the amount of voters raised as it welcomed the addition of other theatre professionals to vote as well. Today, the number of voters has risen all the way to include around seven hundred people, though this number rises and falls depending on the year.

The included voting members today are The Broadway League, the board of directors and specific members or the advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing, members of the governing boards of Actors' Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, members or the Theatrical Council of the Casting Society of America, the New York Drama Critics' Circle, and the Tony Awards Nominating Committee. The people who are included in the voting are expected to attend all productions that have been nominated or otherwise give up the right to vote. Then, several weeks before June when the Tony Awards are held, a secret ballot is taken and a small number of people manage the votes and keep the results quiet until the night of the Awards show. As for nominations, they are selected by the Tony Awards Nominated Committee, which is made up of about thirty theatre professionals. These nominators serve for three consecutive years.