Award Central News

Just before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences mailed out Oscar ballots on Wednesday, the org finalized tallies for each branch, taking into account new members, deaths, dropouts and those who chose to go into retired-membership status.

Since the 2006 mailing, the number of voters has actually dropped -- by exactly one.

There were 5,830 voters last year; unsurprisingly, each branch was stable in its numbers. Six of the 16 branches recorded a slight increase; the biggest jump was in the visual effects branch, which inched up by nine voters.

Of the branches that saw slight decreases, the biggest drop was in the art directors branch, which by coincidence dropped nine.