Tips to Share With Election Officials

Here are a few things local election officials should know. Sharing this information with them will help to ensure the mail they entrust to the Postal Service during this elec­tion season is processed in the most efficient and timely manner.

• It is crucial that election officials plan their mailings in advance during an election period. The Postal Service has mail experts available to help explain regulations that will ensure efficient and accurate delivery of election-related items and ballots. MDAs can provide critical guidance to assist election offi­cials in designing outbound and return envelopes that meet postal standards and constructing an effective mailing plan.
• It is strongly recommended that election officials print only the address and barcode of the election office on the return envelope. Some jurisdictions include a block for the voter’s signature, address, and delivery barcode on the back of the envelope voters use to return the ballot. Although the Postal Service is able to deliver these envelopes to their intended destination, occasionally USPS mail pro­cessing equipment may read the voter’s address and barcode on the return envelope instead of the elec­tion office address. This may cause the mail to be delayed or returned to the voter.
• Using a Facing Identification Mark (FIM) on the return envelope helps assure that USPS^® processing equipment will identify the correct side of the enve­lope efficiently without impacting processing time. Election officials should use the OEM logo to help voters recognize the mail as important and distinct from partisan political mailings. Additionally, the logo serves to identify OEM for Postal Service workers and distinguish it from the thousands of other mail­pieces that are processed daily.
• One of the newest tools available is the green Tag 191. The tag was developed with the assistance of state election officials and is used to identify trays and sacks containing domestic and international ballots. Election officials may request a supply of Tag 191 from their local Postal Service MDA, BMEU, or Post Office™ and should allow adequate time for order fulfillment.
• The Postal Service recommends that election offi­cials mail ballots 30–45 days before Election Day. Special handling procedures will be in effect from September 15 through November 3, 2008, for ballots mailed to military personnel stationed abroad. During this period, the Postal Service will send military absentee ballots via the Express Mail^® network to the three military International Service Centers in Miami, New York, and San Francisco.
• The Postal Service has developed a step-by-step training program for election officials. Each session of “Election Mail: Tips, Tools, and Tactics for Suc­cessful Mailing” is led by postal representatives shar­ing tools and resources to help customize a mail plan. To find out more about this training, send an e–mail to election-mail-manager@usps.gov.
• For information on preparing and sending mail, visit the Election Officials’ Mailing Resources site at www.usps.com/electionmail. Resources are avail­able to help plan, address, and design OEM. A down­loadable image of the OEM logo also is available at the site.

The Postal Service looks forward to working with elec­tion officials to help ensure the accurate, timely delivery of all ballot mail.