Can you vote for the 2026 Oscars? The surprising truth about who decides the winners

Two hundred and thirty nominees, all hoping to win the coveted golden trophy, the highlight of an actor's career. But there's time for the nominees to become winners. Oscars 2026 will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. In the meantime, voting goes on and luck keeps on dabbling in between.

Who votes for the Academy Awards and how are the winners decided? Here's how it all works.

Voting system of the Oscars

The 98th Academy Awards are just about to arrive. And the voting for all categories including films and acting awards is being conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy, which is made up of members from across the film industry includes actors, writers, directors, costume designers, producers, technicians, hairstylists and numerous other professionals part of the vast field.




Members of the Academy are reportedly expanded every year to include more people and are eligible to vote within their branch of expertise when it comes to the nominations. Meaning actors nominate performers in acting categories and costume designers nominate designers in the costume design category.

Who decides the winners?

However, when it comes to deciding the winners, every member is allowed to vote in each category out of the total 24 categories. The nomination with the most votes wins the honour.

What happens if there is a tie?

If two people or more win the same number of votes, they all end up getting an award of their own. While this has never happened, the system allows the possibility. However, there is one category that can not end in a tie. The Best Picture category is bound to have one winner as it uses a preferential voting system.

In the 98 years of the Oscars, there have been only six ties ever. While the first was in 1932, the most famous tie was that for Best Actress between Katherine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand who won for 'The Lion in Winter' and 'Funny Girl', respectively in 1969. The most recent tie happened in 2013 for the Best Sound Editing category where the award was given to both 'Skyfall' and 'Zero Dark Thirty'.

Can you vote for the Oscars?

Well, voting for the Oscars is only possible if you are a part of the Academy and becoming a member is not an easy feat to achieve. To qualify, one has to be sponsored by two existing members from the same branch. One of the most common yet difficult ways of becoming a member is earning an Oscar nomination.

Oscars 2026 nominees

The highest number of nominations for this year's Oscars has been scored by Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld. This also smashed the highest number of nominations in the awards for any film, which was previously held by Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 'All About Eve', which scored 14 nominations.

From Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothee Chalamet to Emma Stone and Elle Fanning numerous actors along with directors such as Steven Spielberg, are among the popular nominees in some of the main categories. All the nominees recently attended the Oscar Luncheon on February 10, 2026 at the Beverly Hilton in California.

While fans and followers can not vote for their favourite stars and categories, you can surely put a word in to the heavens above for those you want to see holding the golden trophy on Oscar night.