Academy extends voting deadline for Oscars

Los Angeles: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended the January 3 deadline for members to vote online for Oscar nominations by one day.

This is the first year the Academy is providing its membership the opportunity to vote online and the deadline has been extended till Friday to ensure a smooth transition. Members have the choice to either vote online or submit a paper ballot. Any votes received after the deadline will not be counted. "By extending the voting deadline we are providing every opportunity available to make the transition to online balloting as smooth as possible. We`re grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process," Ric Robertson, Academy COO, said in a statement. In order to accommodate the extension and maintain security, the online voting system will be closed for two hours only on Thursday, January 3. The system will re-open on January 3 and remain available to members until January 4. Several voting resources are available to members, including assisted voting stations in Los Angeles, New York and London, and a 24-hour support call center. The nominations and final Awards ballots will be tabulated and verified by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to ensure that all aspects of the balloting process are accurate and secure. In the majority of the categories, PwC will tabulate the ballots using the preferential voting system. The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013 in the Academy`s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. PTI