from http://www.oscars.org/75academyawards/rules/rule06.html

Rule Six
Special Rules for the Acting Awards

1. Reminder lists including the casts of all eligible pictures shall be sent with nominations ballots to all active members of the Academy Actors Branch who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five acting achievements in each category: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Performance by a Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.

2. The five acting achievements in each category receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the Acting Awards.

3. A performance by an actor or actress in any role shall be eligible for nomination either for the Best Performance in a Leading Role or for the Best Performance in a Supporting Role. If, however, all the dialogue has been dubbed by another actor, the performance shall not be eligible for award consideration. Singing which is dubbed will not affect the performer's eligibility unless it constitutes the entire performance. The determination as to whether a role is a lead or support shall be made individually by members of the branch at the time of balloting.

4. The leading role and supporting role categories will be tabulated simultaneously. If any performance should receive votes in both categories, the achievement shall only be placed on the ballot in that category in which, during the tabulation process, it first receives the required number of votes to be nominated. In the event that the performance receives the numbers of votes required to be nominated in both categories simultaneously, the achievement shall only be placed on the ballot in that category in which it receives the greater percentage of the total votes.

5. In the event that two achievements by an actor or actress receive sufficient votes to be nominated in the same category, only one shall be nominated using the preferential tabulation process and such other allied procedures as may be necessary to achieve that result.

6. In the event that an actor or actress receives a sufficient number of votes to be nominated for one achievement in one category and for another achievement in the other category, both achievements shall be eligible.

7. Final voting for the Acting Awards shall be restricted to active and life Academy members.


There is no submission process for individual acting awards. These "for your consideration" campaigns are a gold mine for Variety and Hollywood Reporter, but are usually negotiated as part of the contract for an actor or sometimes paid for by the actors themselves.