Aha! I wondered why the ballot had two numbers in one category when there were three titles online and in the contest. Maybe that was it.
There are *always* submissions that transgress the rules. Many AMVs are made for other cons with different rules, and we often get them "as is" (even with another con's bumper -- not against the rules, but some other content might be, or might not fit the category). Part of the judges' work is to make the calls on the marginal cases, with time constraints usually inhibiting leniency.
2014's contest hiccups may have had something to do with lower turnout this year. We can hope that since regular service has been restored, we will get more entries next year.
Uneven distribution among categories is something the judging panel may handle (if they have time). If a category is thin, then it could be merged or even dropped (melting pot helps there if there's an orphan worth keeping). If there are a lot of *good* AMVs in a category, it could be split thematically (e.g. splitting horror out of intensity).
Since I make a lot of suggestions, I suppose I should offer again to help. The one thing I know I can't do is editing, but I can pitch in with most other tasks both before and during the con.
