Speaking personally rather than giving the ALAA's majority decision, I agree that allowing a nominee to disqualify him- or herself sabotages the award's goal of showing what is the most popular title of the year. It also sets up an atmosphere of, "----- may have won, but everyone knows that ¶¶¶¶¶ was really more popular and would have won if its author hadn't withdrawn it."
Speaking personally rather than giving the ALAA's majority decision, I agree that allowing a nominee to disqualify him- or herself sabotages the award's goal of showing what is the most popular title of the year. It also sets up an atmosphere of, "----- may have won, but everyone knows that ¶¶¶¶¶ was really more popular and would have won if its author hadn't withdrawn it."
Fred Patten