Quoted from flynnibus:"A first choice selection was assigned three points, second choice assigned two points, and one point for third choice. Those points were then added up for each nominee to determine the result order for the category"
The placing is based on the points - not # of first place votes.
Ah, of course. I thought the votes column was showing "Total Votes" not "Total 1st Place Votes". Missed that. I see that this was the only category where the winner wasn't also the one with the most 1st-place votes.
Hmm, I'd say it probably wasn't worth doing ranked voting. Since all of winners except one would have been the same with traditional "one choice" voting, as far as I can tell. And in the one category that the ranked voting actually did change a result, the ranked voting just helped a repeat winner win again. How cool would it have been for that South American location to win?
Plus, the ranked voting made the actual vote process much more cumbersome. So I'd say go back to one-choice voting for next year, but no one asked me!