Voting process for 'Best Film' Oscar changes

This March, the picture that wins the "Best Film" category at the Academy Awards will be under the stipulation of a new voting process.

The Oscar committee decided to change the process, due to the fact that the normal format of 5 nominees for best film in the past has changed to 10 nominees this year. This new voting process incorporates a ranking system; voters will be able to rank their favorites in the best picture category from 1 to 10.

As reported on NewZealandHerald.com, with the old system, voters would pick one film. The film with the most votes would win the Oscar. The new process takes into consideration the voters' #2 and #3 picks. Also, if the new format was not used, then this year's best film winner could have won the vote with only a small percentage of the vote.

SCPR.com states, "It's a form of instant-runoff voting, in which people rank multiple candidates in order of preference. Cities including San Francisco have used this form of voting in some elections for years to eliminate expensive, low-turnout runoffs."

Of course, low voter turnout is not an issue for the Oscars, also considering that this form of voting will only affect the best film category.