Counting to 10 is complicated for Oscar's best pic

[February 11, 2010]  BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- The final Oscar ballots are officially in the mail.

Accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers counted out about 5,800 ballots Wednesday at the film academy's headquarters in Beverly Hills and handed them over to the U.S. Postal Service for delivery.

Completed ballots are due back March 2, which gives the accounting firm less than five days to tabulate the results and determine the winners.

In every category but best picture, the winner will be the nominee with the most votes. The best picture winner will be determined by the same preferential voting system that determines Oscar nominees.

The Academy Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theatre and broadcast live on ABC.

[Associated Press]

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