Who votes for the Oscars?

Every year, the Oscars celebrate the best in film, but who actually decides the winners of Hollywood’s most prestigious honor? Behind Hollywood’s biggest night lies a voting process that shapes the industry’s highest honor, yet not many know who holds the power.

The very first Academy Awards ceremony took place on May 16, 1929, in a small Hollywood banquet room — far from the global spectacle it is today. Since then, over 3,000 golden statuettes have been handed to the industry’s best across different categories, and behind it all is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). With more than 10,500 members from around the world, the organization is responsible for casting the votes that decide who takes home Oscar gold.

Membership to the AMPAS isn’t open to just anyone in the film industry. In fact, they do not accept applications. Instead, the organization’s Board of Governors extends an invitation to a potential member, who has been sponsored by two current members who are in the same branch in the industry. Even then, there are requirements that must be fulfilled before a membership is granted. For instance, in the Actors branch, a candidate must have at least three feature film credits, “all of which are of a caliber that reflect the high standards of the Academy.” Those who are nominated for an Oscar are automatically placed under consideration for membership.

How does the voting process work?

Like voting, nominations are also done by AMPAS members, but a nominator can only nominate someone from their own branch (for instance, a director can only nominate a fellow director) to ensure that each category is judged by their peers. When it comes to voting, however, all active AMPAS members may vote in all 20-plus categories but they may also choose to abstain in certain categories they feel they aren’t qualified to judge.

Members cast their votes privately through a secure online portal, and most of the winners from each category are decided based on the most number of votes. However, the process is a bit different for the Best Picture category — considered the highest honor in the ceremony. Each year, up to 10 films are nominated in the category, and voters must rank them in order of preference from highest to lowest in what is called a “preferential ballot.” Although members are highly encouraged to watch as many of the nominated films as they can, it is not a requirement. The film that gets at least 50 percent of all votes is declared the Best Picture.

But what happens if none of the 10 nominated films reaches the 50 percent vote requirement? The film with the least number of votes is then eliminated from the list of 10, and those who voted for that film as their first choice then have their votes transferred to the next best film on their ranking. This process goes on until a film secures 50 percent of the votes from the members.

Per the Oscars, only two people know the Oscar winners prior to the ceremony, and they are the partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), an accounting firm that has been working with the Academy since 1935. They are also responsible for handing over the sealed envelope containing the winner’s name to the presenters just before the announcement.

While trends in filmmaking change over time, the Oscars remain a lasting symbol of cinematic excellence. With a rigorous nominating and voting process that includes industry-wide participation, the awards continue to highlight the best and most influential films year after year.