The number of ballots mailed back to election officials with insufficient postage is on the rise. Each election cycle presents a different set of parameters for ballot creation and for the size and weight of the return mailpiece. As a result, many voters do not know the correct amount of postage required to return their ballot by mail.
Effective October 7, 2013, the Postal Service™ revised Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 703.8 to require that the balloting materials for all types of ballots, whether disseminated in hardcopy or electronically, must indicate in a prominent location the proper amount of First-Class Mail® postage that must be paid. This information must be included in the balloting materials (i.e., on the ballot, ballot instructions, mailing instructions, or the envelope) with the marking “First-Class Mail postage must be applied.”
Alternatively, the marking “Apply First-Class Mail postage here” could be printed in the upper-right corner of the address side of the envelope used by the voter to return the ballot to election officials. The Postal Service will also accept approved variations of the above markings.
Additionally, balloting materials must indicate, in a prominent location, the specific amount of First-Class Mail postage required for the return of the ballot to election officials. The marking requirements will not apply to balloting materials that meet one of the following exceptions:
n The balloting materials are qualified under the special exemption for military and overseas voting.
n The ballot is returned under Business Reply Mail® service.
n Return postage is guaranteed through a postage due account.
n Postage on the ballot is prepaid by stamps, meter, or Permit Reply Mail.
For mailers who submit Election Ballot mailings that are non-compliant with current return postage requirements, the following acceptance procedures are to be observed:
n The mailer can submit a written request to the manager, Business Mail Entry for a one-time exception to allow the mailing to be accepted. The exception request will be submitted to the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC).
Effective January 26, 2014, the Postal Service enabled an Election Mail Checkbox in PostalOne! and on Postage Statements 3602-R, 3602-N, 3600-PM, 3600-FCM. The purpose of this change is to provide USPS with visibility of all Official Election Mail entered into the mailstream. Examples of some of the postage statement changes are shown in the images of PS Forms 3600-FCM and 3602-R that follow.
In response to mailers’ and municipal officials’ requests, the Postal Service began applying a cancellation mark to all letter pieces processed on USPS Letter Automation Compatible Postage Cancellation Systems in March 2014. The result of this improvement is that all mail processed on USPS Letter Automation Postage Cancellation Systems now receives a legible date of mailing in the same general location on letter mailpieces (fig. 1). This change will have a variety of uses, including identifying the mailing date of ballot materials, voter registration cards, absentee applications, polling place notifications, and tax filing submissions.
Figure 1, Sample Alternative Cancellation Marks (images not to scale).
