According to recent reports, the deadline for members to vote for their Oscar nominees may be extended owing to an error in the new electronic Oscar voting system.
The error in the new electronic Oscar voting system has led to growing concern that the situation could lead to record-low turnout of votes, forcing the motion picture academy to extend voting deadlines by a day.
In a press release Monday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made it clear that the extension is only for a day and votes that come in 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," said the academy's chief operating officer, Ric Robertson, in a statement. "We're grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process."
This is the first time that the academy is using an online voting system and earlier concerns were raised that this method of voting could be hacked. The system has been developed by the academy and its longtime accountants, PricewaterhouseCoopers, partnered with the electronic voting firm Everyone Counts Inc.
"There's considerable concern from many members that voter participation will be at record lows this year because the people who wanted to take a chance on this new cutting-edge system are either giving up on it or worried they won't be able to cast their votes," said Scott Feinberg, awards analyst and blogger for The Hollywood Reporter.
In the past, all Oscar voting was carried out through paper ballots sent through the mail. The new system allows members to choose between voting online or sticking with a traditional mail-in ballot.
"The password they sent didn't work for my log-in - and they couldn't email me a new log-in, only snail mail," Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker whose 2004 film "Super Size Me" who was nominated for best documentary, tweeted when he was not able to log-in and vote.
The academy hopes the extension of the deadline may give its 6,000 members more time to see nominated films before the Feb. 24 awards ceremony and vote accordingly.
"If the turnout is lower among older members, more traditional Oscar contenders will probably receive fewer votes, and otherwise edgier films that appeal more to younger people could fare better," said Feinberg, a Hollywood reported "Because of the way that best-picture voting works, it could increase the chances of a movie like The Master or Moonrise Kingdom getting in."
