Oscars voting to go electronic

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Potential Oscar winners will now be a click away from winning a trophy.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it has partnered with a company to develop an electronic voting system for next year's 85th annual Academy Awards.

The motion picture academy says it entered into an agreement with Everyone Counts Inc. to exclusively to work with longtime accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers to create the new system.

Oscar voting in the past has been compiled through paper ballots sent through the mail.

Ric Robertson, the Academy's chief operating officer, said in a statement that it's the first step the Academy is taking "toward developing a secure and convenient electronic voting system."

The 84th annual Academy Awards are set for Feb. 26.