Democracy is at work in this country of ours, where scandal has broken out in perhaps one of America’s most important polls. That’s right, American Idol.

US television network Fox has been forced to throw out the latest voting results in American Idol after a bungled display of the phone numbers viewers use to choose their favourite contestant.

Fox will have to air an extra one-hour episode of Idol, the top-rating show on US television.

The recap special of the prime-time talent contest will consist of taped performances from Tuesday’s show, along with some live segments to fill in the gaps before a new round of voting.

The 11 remaining contestants will not actually perform their songs again.

“Audiences will see the exact same performances from the exact same performers,” said Fox spokesman Scott Grogin.

The show’s weekly half-hour “results” segment, in which the outcome of the previous night’s vote is revealed and the contestant with the smallest tally gets eliminated, will be bumped to Thursday night.

The shake-up at American Idol began when the network displayed incorrect numbers for two call-in lines during Tuesday’s broadcast.

“It was human error on the production side,” Mr Grogin said. “It had nothing to do with the phone lines.”

I hear there were a few dozen protestors descending on American Idol headquarters to demand Simon’s resignation and accountability for our ‘totally diminished’ voting rights. Apparently, these are the same people who think Kerry won Ohio. Stay tuned, they may set up a tent city and start singing koom-bai-ah, hoping to land a spot in next year’s show.

(Yes, this is a sad attempt at filler humor while I busy myself with real-life work. More, real content later tonight.)