How does Oscars voting work? This is how winners are decided

nypost.com:

Sunday at the Academy Awards. We take you through the process of getting that golden statuette into a winner’s hand — this is how Oscar voting works:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences boasts some 10,000-plus members, divided among 17 branches.

All academy members have to be involved in the movie business in some capacity, but membership isn’t restricted to creatives — there are branches for executives and marketing and public relations professionals, as well.While nominations are mostly decided by members of the relevant branch (directors nominate directors, for instance), all voting members can nominate films for best picture.

Once nominees are decided, all voting members are eligible to cast their ballots in any category.In recent years, the academy has taken steps to diversify its membership, especially after receiving criticism for a spate of all-white acting nominees.

It adds new members once a year.Voting takes place over a few days not too long before the ceremony — in 2023, voting opened March 2 and ended March 7, five days before the big night.While the final results can sometimes be controversial, there’s no risk of hanging chads — voting takes place entirely online.Tabulation for most categories is simple — the nominee that gets the most votes wins.Best picture, on the other hand, employs ranked-choice voting (also known as preferential voting).