1. What is Election Mail?
Election Mail is any item mailed to or from authorized election officials that enables citizens to participate in the voting process, such as ballots, sample ballots, voter registration cards, absentee ballot applications, and polling place notifications.
To enhance visibility, we recommend use of the Election Mail checkbox, Official Election Mail logo, and serialized IMb for outbound ballots.
2. What is Ballot Mail?
Ballot Mail is a subset of Election Mail. It consists of any mailpiece sent to or from an authorized election official containing a live ballot that may be used to cast a vote in an election. Ballot Mail should use the Ballot Mail checkbox, Official Election Mail logo, and serialized IMb for outbound ballots, as well as Ballot Mail STIDs and green Tag 191, Domestic and International Ballots, to increase visibility in the postal network.
3. What is Political Mail?
Political Mail is any material mailed for campaign purposes by a registered political candidate, campaign committee, or committee of a political party, as well as any material mailed by a political action committee or organization engaging in issues advocacy or voter mobilization.
Political Mail may be sent for any public election — partisan or nonpartisan — for which there is a ballot. Political Mail is identified using red Tag 57, Political Campaign Mailing, and by using Political Mail STIDs.
4. How many ballots were sent through the mail for the 2022 general election?
According to the 2022 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), states reported transmitting a total of 61.5 million mailed ballots to voters (not including ballots sent to and from UOCAVA voters) for the November 2022 general election. Approximately 59.7 percent of these ballots were returned by voters.
5. In the 2022 general election, how many ballots were voted by troops around the world?
The Military Postal Service Agency postmarked and dispatched 11,009 voted absentee ballots from military voters to election offices using Priority Mail Express Military Service with Label 11-DoD between September 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. The average transit time of ballots to election offices was 5 business days. Of the ballots received by APOs and FPOs, 6.3 percent were Undeliverable as Addressed (UAA) from election offices, and were either redirected to the voter’s current address or returned to sender.
6. Is the Postal Service ready for the increased mail volume of Election Mail and Political Mail?
Yes. The Postal Service is confident in its ability to offer dependable and timely delivery of Election Mail and Political Mail.
7. What is the Hatch Act?
The Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326) limits certain political activities for most executive branch employees. For example, the law prohibits employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or in the federal workplace. The Hatch Act also prohibits executive branch employees from soliciting or receiving political contributions. Employees who violate the Hatch Act are subject to a range of disciplinary actions, including the following:
n Removal from federal service.
n Reduction in grade.
n Debarment from federal employment for a period not to exceed 5 years.
n Suspension, reprimand, or a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.
8. How does the Hatch Act affect the Postal Service and its employees?
The Postal Service is non-political, which means the organization cannot and does not support any political party or affiliation over another. The continued effectiveness of this organization depends on delivering all political mailings without giving the perception that the views of one candidate, political party, or political viewpoint are endorsed over another.
It is the responsibility of all Postal Service employees to know and obey Hatch Act restrictions. This means that employees may not display political buttons while on Postal Service property or place bumper stickers on a Postal Service vehicle that indicate a preference for a specific candidate, party, or political position. Employees are also urged not to participate in any political discussions where customers are present.
This brief summary does not address all of the Hatch Act prohibitions. For more information about the Hatch Act:
n Visit the Ethics page on Blue at blue.usps.gov/uspslaw/Ethics.htm;
n Contact the HQ Ethics helpline at 202-268-6346; or
n Send an email message to “Ethics Help” (internal email) or ethics.help@usps.gov.
9. Do return ballots need to be postmarked by a certain date?
Ballot acceptance rules vary on a state-by-state basis. Some states will accept a ballot that is delivered after Election Day if it has been mailed by Election Day (or some other specified date) in certain circumstances. Other states focus on the date by which the ballot is received (typically, though not always, by Election Day) rather than when it is mailed. Visit your state’s election website for specific information.
10. Do return ballots need to be postmarked even if there is a meter?
In recognition of the importance that the election laws in some states place on postmarks, it has been the long-standing policy of the Postal Service to try to ensure that every return ballot mailed by voters receives a postmark, whether the return ballot is mailed with postage pre-paid by election officials or with a stamp affixed by the voter. We instruct our employees throughout the country about our ballot postmarking processes and procedures, and review standard operating procedures for ballot postmarking. Consistent with our policy, ballots are postmarked in every state, which helps to ensure that return ballots are postmarked for states that require it.
