Thanks to those reported online voting snafus (surprising, considering no kind of voting process has ever hit any kind of snags along the way) the Academy is extending the nominations deadline from Thursday, January 3 at 5 PM PT to Friday, January 4 at 5 PM PT. There will, however, be a two-hour period on Thursday (from 5 PM to 7 PM PT) in which online voting will not be available. This marked the first year that the Academy has given its members the opportunity to vote online, though paper ballots are still available. According to The Hollywood Reporter, some of the issues were members not being able to access the Academy’s voting website with a special password they were given.

Academy COO Ric Robertson explained the decision to give voters an extra day in a statement, “By extending the voting deadline we are providing every opportunity available to make the transition to online balloting as smooth as possible. We’re grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process.”

The 2013 Oscars, hosted by Seth MacFarlane , will air live on ABC on Sunday, February 24. While the news likely thrilled Academy members who get an extra day to watch screeners and cast their votes (because, really, who is getting anything done today?) and the films, filmmakers, and stars who get an extra 24 hours to be considered fo:an opportunity to attend the big dance, it gives the folks at Price-Waterhouse-Cooper one less day to do their jobs. The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced live, as scheduled, on Thursday, January 10 at 5:30 AM PT.

[Photo credit: Alex Oliveira/©A.M.P.A.S.]

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