Oscar ballots mailed out to voters

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Nomination ballots for the 81st Academy Awards have been mailed to the 5,810 voting members of Hollywood's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Oscar organizers said the ballots were mailed out Friday and the completed forms must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. Jan. 12. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

"Nomination and final award ballots are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure that all aspects of the balloting process are conducted with fairness and accuracy," the Academy said in a news release. "Prior to mailing, the PricewaterhouseCoopers staff administers a thorough verification process to ensure that there are no duplicate ballots and that none are missing. In addition to being counted and sorted, the ballots are numbered to guarantee that each one is addressed to the appropriate Academy voter."

Oscar nominations are to be announced Jan. 22 in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards or Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented Feb. 22 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and televised live by the ABC Television Network.