Disappointed - unsuccessful again this year. However, I am not sure if I understand how the lottery works. My first pick was Sunday 7/31 which shows no spots left, but my first alternate date (Sunday 8/7) still shows 6 spots open. My 10th and 15th choices also show available quota. Do they not continue through the applications and fill the spots until they've all been processed? I'm not sure why I couldn't have been awarded a permit for 8/7 when it was my first alternate and there are more than enough spots available to award it to me. I appreciate any insight you guys can give me to help better understand it!
Same thing happened to me. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the list is showing first picks only. Your first pick date was someone else's backup date, and when their application was processed during the lotter their first choice date was not available so they got your date instead. The list does not reflect that though, it only shows the number of applications/people who selected your first pick date as their first pick date.
This data is from the first choice only. When alternate choices are considered the number of people requesting a date is greatly increased.
