The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has entered into an agreement with Everyone Counts Inc. to exclusively develop an electronic voting system for the 85th Academy Awards®, to be held in 2013.

Everyone Counts will work with PwC, the Academy’s accounting firm of record, whose role in tabulating Academy members’ votes will remain unchanged. Over the next year, the Academy will undertake a rigorous security and user-acceptance testing process.

The future is slowly becoming a looming force that not even the oldest and most traditional industries can ignore. The Academy Awards always seemed to be crying out for a voting system, but it is understandable but that took the time and care to find one that is as tested as the EC Inc. system.

“This is the first of many steps that we’ll be taking toward developing a secure and convenient electronic voting system, beginning with next year’s ballot,” said Academy Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson. “We’re excited to have found great partners in the people who do this best.”

In terms of the search, 18 long months decided the partnership with Everyone Counts and both parties couldn’t be happier to have made the agreement. Everyone Counts Inc. has been used by many prominent entities such as the United States Department of Defense; the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice; the state of New South Wales, Australia; in addition to the states of Florida, Oregon, and Washington.

“We are honored to have earned the trust of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in bringing online voting to the Oscars starting next year,” said Lori Steele, Chairman and CEO of Everyone Counts Inc. “Our company was founded to set a new standard of security, accessibility, and transparency in elections. We’re proud to be working with the Academy, an organization that also represents the highest standards in its field.”

“We look forward to working with Everyone Counts for next year’s 85th Academy Awards and beyond,” said Brad Oltmanns, balloting leader, PwC. “We are excited about the new electronic voting system, which will enable us to conduct the tabulation process with the same high level of precision, trust and integrity that we have for the past 78 years.”

For more information on the Awards, head over to their webpage here.

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