Cover Story

Be Prepared — Vote-by-Mail Is on the Rise

To increase voter turnout and make it more convenient for citizens to participate in elections, many states nation­wide have adopted new policies such as “No Excuse Absentee Voting” and “Vote-by-Mail.” These alternatives to the traditional obligation of going to a polling station on Election Day provide the Postal Service™ with an opportu­nity to increase First-Class Mail^® volume and revenue, and enhance the value of mail.

In order to attract this new volume and retain it, we must be ready to provide reliable service for this very important and time-sensitive mail.

Here’s what postal employees need to do:

n Be alert for the green Tag 191, Domestic and Interna­tional Mail-In Ballots, which identifies ballot mail.

n Be alert for the Official Election Mail logo, which is used to identify individual pieces of election mail. The logo may be printed in black, blue, or red ink.

n Promptly handle all ballot and official election mailings.

Refer to the standard operating procedures beginning on page 3. See also “Be Ready for Election 2010” on page 45.

Political Campaign Mail

The Postal Service is responsible for providing informa­tion to assist in the preparation and deposit of political campaign mailings, as well as for the proper acceptance, processing, delivery, and recording of these mailings. Our job is to ensure that each mailing is handled properly and with equal care and attention.

 

 

Be alert for the red Tag 57, Political Campaign Mailing. We must expedite any political campaign mailing through our operations. Any delay in processing political campaign mailings must be documented. Here are some guidelines to follow:

Late Deposit

n Inform mailers attempting to deposit political cam­paign mailings that may be too late for delivery by the election date under Postal Service delivery objec­tives of the potential for late delivery. Document and maintain this advice on the Late Arriving Mail Report (see page 8).

Report of Delays

n Give immediate attention to any reported delay in processing or delivering political campaign mailings and fully document inquiries made and subsequent action taken.

Handling of Undeliverable as Addressed Mail

n If a significant amount of a campaign mailing is received that is undeliverable as addressed, post­masters must inform the applicable campaign office before any action to dispose of such mail. Postmas­ters should also coordinate any such situations with their area political campaign mail coordinator.

Processing and Delivery Records

n Managers, Business Mail Entry, and postmasters must keep documented records of all political cam­paign mailings that are deposited or received at their offices, with particular attention to those deposited or received too late for timely delivery.

At a minimum, these documented records must include the following:

n The name of the mailer.

n A sample, photocopy, or description of the mailing.

n The date and time the mailing was received for dis­patch or delivery.

n The Election Day deadline and, if applicable, the date of requested delivery.

n If applicable, the approximate number of pieces not delivered before the Election Day deadline and/or the date of requested delivery and the reasons why deliv­ery was not timely.

n The approximate volume of any Standard Mail items consigned to waste upon instruction by the mailer.

PostalOne! Sites

There is a new feature in PostalOne! for acceptance clerks to tag all political mailings.

 

*This is a Political Campaign mailing: m Yes m No

When processing a postage statement for political mail­ings, select the required “Yes” box for “This is a Political Campaign mailing” question. Checking the box is critical, as it will allow the Postal Service to extract data on political mailings. In addition to this new feature, employees must maintain a manual Political Mailing Log (see page 6).

Refer to the standard operating procedures on page 3.

New Express Mail Label 11-DOD for Military Absentee Voting

Military personnel in APO/FPO/DPO locations will be able to return absentee ballots via Express Mail^® service using the new Express Mail Label 11–DOD. This blue Express Mail label will be affixed to the top of the absentee ballot return envelope or flat. The absentee ballot return envelope may be as small as a #10 business-sized enve­lope or as large as a flat-sized envelope.

These Express Mail shipments will arrive from Interna­tional Service Centers in Express Mail sacks and must remain in the Express Mail stream to the delivery unit. Both the “Waiver of Signature” request and “Guaranteed by End of Day” endorsement are printed on the blue label. No devi­ation for delivery by a specific time is necessary, and the shipments should always be delivered on the day they arrive at the delivery Post Office™.

Express Mail postage will be paid by the federal govern­ment. No postage should be charged at the destination, regardless of the type of envelope or flat used — even if the original is a Business Reply Mail envelope or flat.

Processing operations employees must ensure absen­tee ballot envelopes or flats with the Express Mail Label 11–DOD affixed at the top remain in the Express Mail stream and receive an Enroute scan event. Customer Service and Delivery employees must identify incoming absentee ballot envelopes or flats as Express Mail shipments and ensure they receive the appropriate scan events and are delivered as Express Mail.

Election 2010: Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Acceptance Units

For political campaign mail, Postal Operations Manual (POM) 492, defines the responsibilities of the marketing manager (and staff). POM 492.32 states that marketing managers are responsible for ensuring proper premailing assistance is provided to all committees of political parties, all candidates for public office, and all candidate campaign committees within their jurisdiction. Although not specifi­cally addressed in the POM, official election mail also deserves prompt attention during processing.

Responsibilities of the marketing manager

The marketing manager (or designee) must:

n Provide information to processing and distribution managers, postmasters, and the managers, Post Office Operations on customer issues or mailing cir­cumstances that may affect their operations.

n Monitor compliance of Business Mail Entry, Con­sumer Affairs, and the Business Service Network in meeting their responsibilities as listed in this SOP.

Responsibilities for the Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) Function

The manager, Business Mail Entry, and the BMEU per­sonnel must:

n Ensure all mailing supplies (trays, sacks, labels, tags, postage statements, etc.) requested by political par­ties, candidates, and election officials to prepare their mail are available and provided promptly.

n Ensure all BME personnel are up to date with the information and procedures on political mail in POM 492, Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM^®) 703.1.3, and Handbook DM-109, Business Mail Acceptance.

n Ensure prompt acceptance of political campaign mail and official election mail presented to the BMEU, as far as practicable.

n Ensure all trays and sacks containing political cam­paign mail are identified with red Tag 57.

n Ensure all trays and sacks containing official ballot mail are identified with green Tag 191.

n At PostalOne! sites, ensure that each political cam­paign mailing and official election mailing accepted in the BMEU is properly identified as a political mailing by clicking the “Yes” choice to the question “This is a Political Campaign mailing”. This action does not negate the need to enter the mailing on the Log for Official Election Mail and Political Campaign Mail.

n Ensure that each campaign political mailing and offi­cial election mailing accepted in the BMEU is entered on the Log for Official Election Mail and Political Campaign Mail.

n Ensure each accepted political campaign mailing and official election mailing is placed in a designated container that is then placed in an area designated only for these types of mailings.

n Immediately call or otherwise notify the processing supervisor after the accepted political campaign mail or official election mail is placed in the designated staging area.

n Record the time of the call or notification and the name of the processing supervisor notified on the Log for Official Election Mail and Political Campaign Mail.

n Enter the time the mail is picked up by processing personnel from the designated staging area on the Log for Official Election Mail and Political Campaign Mail.

n Use the Advance Notification of Mailing Form (see page 5) for mailings over 25,000 pieces.

n Observe the designated staging area for accepted political campaign mailings and official election mail­ings, on a continual basis, and make sure that the mail is promptly handled.

n Publicize the schedule of mail preparation seminars in the district to all candidates, political mailers, and election officials, and schedule additional seminars, as needed.

n Monitor the political campaign mailings and official election mailings accepted and report any prepara­tion problems by completing the Issue Report.

Responsibilities for the Mailing Requirements Function

The manager, Business Mail Entry, who oversees the mailing requirements personnel must:

n Ensure all mailing requirements personnel are up to date with the information and procedure on Political Campaign Mail in POM 492, DMM 703.1.3, and Handbook DM-109, Business Mail Acceptance.

Election 2010: Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Convenience Deposit Point (CDP) Acceptance and Associate Offices

Responsibilities of at Convenience Deposit Point (CDP) Personnel

Personnel at CDP acceptance locations must:

n Follow all existing procedures for receiving mailings at the CDP for transport to the Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU).

n Ensure all containers (trays, sacks) of political cam­paign mail are identified with red Tag 57.

Note: Ensure all containers (trays, sacks) of ballot mail are identified with green Tag 191. Tag 191 is to be used only to identify ballot mail. It should not be used to identify contain­ers of other types of official election mail, such as polling place notices, vote registration notices, or other ballot-related materials.

n Place political campaign mailings and official election mailings received at the CDP in a separate transport container or cart.

n Place a red Tag 57 or green Tag 191, as appropriate, on the outside of the transport cart, along with the orange unverified permit mail tag.

n Place transport containers with political campaign mailings and official election mailings on the earliest available dispatch.

n Keep records of political campaign mailings and offi­cial election mailings received and dispatched from the CDP to the BMEU on the Log for Official Election Mail and Political Campaign Mail.

n Document any inquiries and actions taken in response to delayed processing or delivery of politi­cal campaign mail or official election mail on the Issue Report (see page 7).

n Notify the district Election 2010 coordinator of any delays or processing issues with political campaign mail or official election mail on the Issue Report.

— Transactions and Correspondence,
Mailing and Shipping Services, 10-21-10

Advance Notification of Mailing Form

 

ADVANCE NOTIFICATION Of MAILING for Official Election Mail or Political Campaign Mail (Recommended for mailings over 25,000 pieces)
TYPE OF MAILING (check one): ___ Official Election Mail __ Political Campaign Mail
TO: POSTMASTER City, State: _________________________ ZIP+4 Code: ____________________	FROM: MAIL OWNER Office/Org. Name:______________________ Address: ______________________________ City, State: ___________________________ ZIP+4 Code:__________________________
POST OFFICE OF ENTRY:	MAIL OWNER’S CONTACT PERSON: PHONE:
DATE OF MAILING:	ZIP CODE RANGES IN MAILING:
MAILING VOLUME (number of pieces):	MAILPIECE TYPE (check one): ___ Letter ___ Flat ___ Other _____________________________
CLASS OF MAIL (check one): ___ First-Class Mail ___ First-Class Mail–FREE Absentee Ballots for Overseas Military Personnel ___ Standard Mail ___ Nonprofit Standard Mail ___ Other _______________________	POSTAGE PAID BY (check one): ___ First-Class Mail Stamps ___ Permit Imprint ___ Metered Postage ___ Precanceled Stamps ___ Other ______________________________
NAME OF MAILING AGENT: Name: __________________________ Address: _______________________ City, State: ______________________ ZIP+4 Code: ____________________	MAILING AGENT’S CONTACT PERSON: PHONE: TARGET DELIVERY DATE(S):
PLEASE ATTACH A SAMPLE OF THE MAILPIECE TO THIS FORM. SIGNED:_____________________________________________________________________
POSTMASTER — PLEASE RETURN A COPY OF THIS COMPLETED FORM TO:
ELECTION 2010 COORDINATOR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE [Address] ________________________________________________ [City, State, ZIP+4 Code] __________________________________ Phone: _____________________ FAX: _______________________ E-mail: __________________________________________________

Log for Political Campaign Mail and Official Election Mail

 

Facility Name: ZIP Code:

Person Who Tagged Mail and Notified Supervisor

Name of Supervisor Notified

Unit Mail Was Dispatch to

Date/Time of Dispatch

Processing Category

Class of Mail

No. of Pieces

Date/ Time Received

Name of Candidate or Mailer

Permit No.

Political Mail (PM) or Election Mail (EM)

Issue Report for Official Election Mail or Political Campaign Mail

 

Issue Report for Official Election Mail or Political Campaign Mail This report may be initiated by a mailer inquiry or by a Postal Service employee.

Report Filing Information Type of Mailing (check one): __ Official Election Mail __ Political Campaign Mail Date Issue Reported: ______________________________________________________ Person Reporting the Issue: _____________________________ Phone: ____________ Office Name: _____________________________________________________________

Mailpiece Details Permit No: ____________ Office Where Permit is Held: _________________________ Name of Permit Holder: ___________________________________________________ Phone/Address/Contact Information on Mailpiece: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Contact name (if known): _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Issue Details Briefly explain the problem: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain the resolution and status: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE RETURN A COPY OF THIS COMPLETED FORM TO:

ELECTION 2010 COORDINATOR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE [Address] _______________________________________________ [City, State, ZIP+4 Code] __________________________________ Phone: _____________________ FAX: _______________________ E-mail: _________________________________________________

Late Arriving Mail Report

 

Late Arriving Report for Official Election Mail or Political Campaign Mail

Report Filing Information Type of Mailing (check one): __ Official Election Mail __ Political Campaign Mail Date Issue Reported:______________________________________________________ Person Reporting the Issue: _______________________ Phone: __________________ Office Name: ________________________________________ ZIP Code ____________

Mailpiece Details Permit No: __________________Office Where Permit is Held: ______________________ Name of Permit Holder: _____________________________________________________ Phone/Address/Contact Information on Mailpiece:_______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Contact name (if known): ____________________________________________________

Acceptance Details Date and Tine Mail Arrived at Office: ____________________________________________ Sack/Tray/Tub Count: ________________ Estimated Number of Pieces: ______________ Disposition of Mail:__________________________________________________________ Explain when and how the mail was discovered: _________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE RETURN A COPY OF THIS COMPLETED FORM TO:

ELECTION 2010 COORDINATOR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE [Address] _______________________________________________ [City, State, ZIP+4 Code] __________________________________ Phone: _____________________ FAX: _______________________ E-mail: _________________________________________________