50 Vie for Pageant Title, and Public Votes

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —  Fifty contestants counted down the hours Saturday as they competed to wear the crown of Miss America.

For the first time, the choice was partly in the public’s hands, as television viewers could call to cast votes for their favorite contestant among the 10 semifinalists. With the field trimmed to five finalists, the decision was solely up to the seven celebrity judges.

The pageant, broadcast on NBC, was expected to conclude about 9 p.m. PDT with the crowning of Miss America 1997 to succeed 1996 Miss America Shawntel Smith.

Among the top contenders were Miss Hawaii Melissa Short and Miss Oregon Patricia Leines, both of whom won in swimsuit and talent portions of preliminary competitions during the week; Miss Louisiana Erika Schwarz, a law school graduate who performed her own piano composition; and Miss New York Tammy Harris, who revealed that she has a tattoo above her backside.

The call-in poll was the latest innovation for the contest, an annual fixture in this beach resort since 1921.

Last year, viewers were asked to vote on whether the swimsuit competition, criticized as sexist, should be held at all. The vote was nearly 4 to 1 in favor of the swimsuit parade. The longtime practice of having contestants wear spiked heels during the swimsuit competition was scrapped in 1994.

In 1989, the pageant began requiring contestants to have an issue on which they could speak if chosen as Miss America. That was done to underscore the pageant’s efforts to present itself as a scholarship program rather than a beauty contest.