Why Each Academy Branch Elects Three Governors, and Since 2020 Uses a Ranked Ballot

Each of the Academy's branches elects its own governors to the board. The rules for those races have changed in recent years.

The Academy announced the 2026-2027 board on June 15, 2026. According to the announcement, the board sets the Academy's strategic vision, protects its financial health and ensures it fulfills its mission. Published accounts of the election process differ on several points, which are noted below.

Nineteen Branches, Three Seats Each

Each of the Academy's 19 branches now sends three governors to the board for the 2026-2027 term, according to the announcement. Governors take office at the first scheduled board meeting of the new term.

That is a change from the structure reported in 2025. At that time, Animation held two seats, Short Films held one and Production and Technology held one. TheWrap's 2025 report said 16 branches had three governors each, and noted that Animation and Short Films had once been a single branch.

A February 2026 bylaws amendment gave each branch three branch-elected governors, adding seats in Animation, Short Films and Production and Technology. To stagger the new seats, the 2026 elections used one-, two- and three-year terms in the expanded branches. The Academy says future races will return to one election per branch each year, on three-year terms. TheWrap's 2025 report described the same pattern, with one seat in each branch up every year.

From Two Rounds to One Ranked Ballot

Until 2020, branch elections ran in two rounds. The first round produced four finalists in each branch, and a second round chose a winner from those four.

An early-May 2020 email from CEO Dawn Hudson announced that the runoff would be dropped. The Academy confirmed the changes after that email, according to TheWrap's 2020 report. Under the new process, every member of a branch can run, and one round of voting decides the seat. An opt-in period was scheduled for May 18 to 22, 2020, before final voting. Members rank their choices, and the ranking narrows the field until one winner emerges.

The method is preferential voting, also called ranked-choice or instant-runoff voting. It is the same method used to pick the Best Picture winner. TheWrap's 2020 report said it narrows the field until one consensus choice remains and avoids ties and extra votes. Final voting for the June 2020 election was scheduled for June 1 to 5.

The 2025 election, with results announced on June 18, had balloting in 17 of the 19 branches. TheWrap reported that ten incumbents were reelected and three former governors returned: Isis Mussenden (Costume Designers), Larry Karaszewski (Writers) and Christina Kounelias (Marketing and Public Relations). The same report said incumbents won the vast majority of board races for a third straight year. TheWrap's 2020 report had noted that incumbents had almost always won reelection to the board.

Four first-time governors were elected that year: Peter Kujawski (Executives), Gigi Williams (Makeup Artists and Hairstylists), Carter Burwell (Music) and Andrew Roberts (Visual Effects).

Terms, Limits and the President's Seat

Governors serve three-year terms. A governor may serve up to two terms, followed by a two-year break. Eligibility then renews for up to two more three-year terms, for a lifetime maximum of 12 years. TheWrap's 2025 report said the lifetime limit is why Charles Fox, the Music governor whom Carter Burwell replaced in 2025, could not run again.

The announcement says the terms may be consecutive or not. TheWrap's 2025 report describes the two terms as consecutive, so the two accounts differ on this point.

The announcement also says terms shorter than three years from the 2026 branch elections do not count against the limits. Several 2026 seats carry one- or two-year terms, among them Jinko Gotoh (Animation), Vic Armstrong and David Leitch (Production and Technology) and Bob Rogers (Short Films).

The announcement says a sitting Academy president may run for up to four consecutive one-year terms, serving ex officio until that term ends. It ties that option to a bylaws amendment approved earlier in 2026. TheWrap's 2025 report, which described Janet Yang as serving her third one-year term, said she would not be eligible for a fourth term because the president must be a sitting board member. The two accounts cover different periods: the announcement describes the rule after a 2026 bylaws amendment, and the 2025 report describes the rule before that amendment.

Governors-at-Large and a Conflict in the Reporting

Not every governor is branch-elected. TheWrap's 2025 report names three governors-at-large, DeVon Franklin, Rodrigo Garcia and Janet Yang. It says the president nominates them and the board approves them, and that they are not elected by members.

According to the same report, the three were first appointed by John Bailey in 2019 and reappointed by David Rubin in 2022. They must step down when their current terms end. The report also said Yang would nominate a new slate of at-large governors before the board voted on her replacement.

The announcement describes governors-at-large as board-elected. Its list of branch-elected governors includes no at-large seats, and it does not name any governors-at-large. The two accounts differ on how these seats are filled, and this article does not resolve the difference.

TheWrap's 2025 report put the board at 29 women and 26 men, and said that balance could change depending on the new governors-at-large.

The 2026-2027 Class of Governors

The announcement lists nine first-time governors: Michael Goi (Cinematographers), Guillermo del Toro (Directors), Anne Goursaud (Film Editors), Patricia Dehaney (Makeup Artists and Hairstylists), Kris Bowers (Music), Fred Berger (Producers), Vic Armstrong and David Leitch (Production and Technology) and Kim Magnusson (Short Films).

Vic Armstrong and David Leitch join Production and Technology, with terms of two years and one year. Bonnie Arnold returns to Animation after a hiatus, for a three-year term. Bernard Telsey (Casting Directors), Roger Ross Williams (Documentary), Bob Rogers (Short Films, two-year term) and Paul Debevec (Visual Effects) also return after a hiatus.

Lou Diamond Phillips was reelected for the Actors branch. Other reelected governors include Jinko Gotoh (Animation, one-year term), Wendy Aylsworth (Production and Technology, three-year term), Hannah Minghella (Executives), Dana Stevens (Writers), Mark P. Stoeckinger (Sound), Kalina Ivanov (Production Design), Daniel Orlandi (Costume Designers) and David Dinerstein (Marketing and Public Relations).

Marlee Matlin, Jason Reitman and Jason Blum are among the continuing governors. Several governors elected in 2025 also continue, including Carter Burwell, Andrew Roberts, Peter Kujawski, Gigi Williams, Isis Mussenden, Christina Kounelias and Larry Karaszewski. The announcement gives term lengths for only some seats, so this article lists terms only where the announcement states them. Based on self-reporting, the board is 47% women and 32% from underrepresented communities.