Your 2024 Official Election Mail

Kit 600

January 2024

The Postal Service has a long and proud history of supporting our country’s electoral system and we take seriously our clear and defined role to process, transport, and deliver the nation’s Election Mail, including ballots. We continually reassess our capabilities to improve the operational effectiveness of our critical Election Mail service.

Since the launch in March 2021 of our 10-year Delivering for America (DFA) strategic plan to modernize and revitalize the Postal Service, we have created a permanent Election and Government Mail Services structure. This full-time team is trained to educate postal employees

and election officials on policies and procedures for the proper handling of Election Mail, and to monitor related activity to resolve issues as they arise.

The Postal Service provides many common-sense mailing recommendations to help voters and election officials use the mail successfully when policymakers decide to use mail as part of their election administration. We recommend that both voters and election officials follow any guidance provided by their state, consider the time required for both legs of mail delivery, and keep in mind any applicable Postal Service mailing recommendations. Sharing the Postal Service’s mailing recommendations with your voters can better help them decide which method of participation in the electoral process is right for them.

Important Reminder for the 2024 Election Cycle:

Election officials should use all available tools to improve the visibility of their Election Mail within the postal network. In particular, the Postal Service strongly recommends the use of Service Type IDentifiers (STIDs), especially for ballots to improve Ballot Mail visibility within the automation environment.

The Postal Service makes available specific STIDs for use by election officials on Ballot Mail, which is any piece of official Election Mail that contains a live ballot. These Ballot Mail STIDs may be used only on Ballot Mail and may not be used on other official Election Mail, such as sample ballots, voter registration cards, polling place notifications, etc. Election officials and mail service providers should be aware that discounts are available for ballot mailings that use a Full-Service Ballot Mail STID.

For other types of Election Mail, refer to pages 2 and 4 of the STID Table on PostalPro at https://postalpro.usps.com/mailing/service-type-identifiers to determine which STID to use based on the mail class, address correction option, and other desired services.

The Postal Service has prepared the 2024 Official Election Mail Kit to help in the planning and preparation of election-related mail. The kit is part of our continued commitment to provide you with the tools necessary to use the U.S. Mail^™ as a secure, efficient, and effective way to help facilitate the election process. For added security and peace of mind, all mail, including Election Mail and specifically balloting materials and ballots, is protected by the United States Postal Inspection Service^®, the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the nation. Election Officials should consider the Inspection Service as a valuable resource in efforts to protect ballot materials.

Included in your 2024 Official Election Mail Kit (Kit 600) are the following fact sheets and publications:

• Election Mail Key Recommendations — Outline of the Postal Service’s key recommendations that should be considered to help ensure you have the tools you need to successfully use the mail.
• Official Election Mail Resources — Overview of the many resources available to election officials to effectively use the mail.
• Steps to Creating Your Intelligent Mail Barcode — Learn how to create your own serialized IMb to track Election Mail while in the mailstream and more.
• Service Type IDentifier for Ballot Mail — Understand how the three-digit code is improving the identification and tracking of ballot mailpieces.
• Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking and Reporting — Learn about this service that provides near-real-time mail tracking data for letters and flat pieces, bundles, handling units (trays, tubs, and sacks), and containers.
• Tag 191, Domestic and International Ballots — Information and guidelines to help your Ballot Mail get higher visibility upon entry.
• Business Reply Mail or Qualified Business Reply Mail with Intelligent Mail Barcode Accounting (IMbATM) — Description of the First-Class Mail^® service and a step-by-step guide to completing a BRM and QBRM application.
• Special Procedures: APO/FPO/DPO and Overseas Citizens Absentee Ballots — Tips to ensure absentee ballots reach military personnel and citizens who are overseas.
• Informed Delivery — Discover the benefits associated with creating an Informed Delivery campaign in your electoral jurisdiction.
• Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual — Includes many of the Postal Service’s regulations about balloting materials.
• USPS Election Mail Checkbox — Use the Election Mail Checkbox in the PostalOne!^® processing system to ensure USPS^® visibility of all Election Mail entered into the mailstream.
• USPS Postmarking Guidelines — An explanation of the Postal Service’s policy concerning the postmarking of ballots returned by voters.
• Next Steps — Ready to get started? Follow a few simple steps for expert advice on how to create, handle, and send Election Mail.
• Publication 631, Official Election Mail —Graphic Guidelines and Logos — Learn proper usage of the Official Election Mail logo for inclusion on mailpieces.
• Publication 632, State and Local Election Mail—User’s Guide — Contains information that election officials must consider before mailing Election Mail.