OK, someone can correct me if I am wrong, but the new voting procedure means that you rank the films you want for Best Picture. Your first place choice get 10 points, your second place choice gets 9 points, and so on.

This means that a film can win Best Picture even though it was nobody's #1 pick.

I personally like this a lot; it give a film with broad appeal a chance, like it should. The old way meant a film could win Best Picture with 21% of the vote. This new way, a film has to get at least 50% of the voters placing it on their ballot at a fairly high level.

What this means, of course, is that a film that would probably not get Best Picture under the old system might very well get it this time, such as Avatar -- which may be on everyone's list but not at the top.

Groucho, the process doesn't quite work that way. It has, indeed, been turned into preferential ballot voting, in the sense that voters will now rank their choices for the Best Picture (as opposed to just checking off one winner). However, it is not true that points are allocated to each choice and added up to determine the winner. The new preferential system means that the Best Picture ballots are put in stacks according to their #1 votes. If a film garners more than 50% of the #1 votes, then we have our winner. If not, then the following occurs:

“If no film has a majority, then the film ranked first on the fewest number of ballots will be eliminated. Its ballots will then be redistributed into the remaining piles, based on whichever film is ranked second on those ballots. If those second-place votes are enough to push one of the other nominees over the 50 percent threshold, the count ends. If not, the smallest of the nine remaining piles is likewise redistributed. Then the smallest of the eight piles, then the smallest of the seven…”

More info here: http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... -new-math/

I hope that clarifies. I still agree with you that this changes the dynamics of the race for the Best Picture win, which I think results in a more exciting Oscar night to come!

Peace,
Mike

Ah, that is much different than what I had assumed.

I like my way better.

I think this new way gives something like Up in the Air a severe disadvantage. Under the old voting method for the winner, there would have been vote-splitting among the action-oriented Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds (and Star Trek or District 9 if either are nominated) so Up in the Air can sneak out with a win with a small plurality. But with the elimination process, vote splitting won't be a factor and Up in the Air may not get a majority when it comes to the final two.

Thus avatar PAWNs