Section IV. Consulting with a Postal Service Manager of Customer Relations to Plan the Mailing

Consult with Your Local Postal Service Manager of Customer Relations

Contact your local Postal Service Manager of Customer Relations to arrange a meeting. You may also want to have direct contact with all local Post Offices within your jurisdiction to help coordinate your mailing. In the meeting, include the following people:

• All your personnel involved in ordering, designing, addressing, and preparing mail.
• Any outside mail service providers or suppliers you are using.

In the meeting, your Manager of Customer Relations will discuss the logistics of your mailings with you, including the following:

• Delivery date: When planning the date, you will want to consider the size of the mailing, the time sensitivity of the contents, and the class of mail (e.g., First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail). For ballots, take into consideration holidays and 3-day weekends so that ballots will not sit in mailboxes over a long weekend. The Postal Service delivers 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, but does not deliver on federal holidays. The Postal Service strongly recommends using First-Class Mail for all Election Mail, and especially for ballots.
• When to give the mailpieces to the Postal Service: The Postal Service can help schedule a time that allows for the immediate acceptance of your mailing. If more than one jurisdiction is involved, it is important to coordinate the time of acceptance for each.
• Where to give the mail to the Postal Service: Typically, you will give your mail to a Business Mail Entry Unit, but larger Post Offices may need to direct the mailing to a specific dock area.
• Your current plan for the upcoming election: Discuss any new or anticipated changes to state elections procedures, especially changes to your deadlines.
• Bulk preparation supplies and equipment you will need: Talk with your Manager of Customer Relations about Postal Service supplies (e.g., forms, tags, trays, and sacks), and how you can order them. There are no charges for these items. The Postal Service recommends the use of Tag 191, Domestic and International Ballots, on tray and sack containers to identify official Ballot Mail upon entry. Tag 191 cannot be used to identify other types of Election Mail.
• Required eDocs and mailing profiles: Electronic documentation is required if you want to mail at discounted postage prices for First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, or Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail.
• Options for mail that cannot be delivered: Discuss how you want the Postal Service to handle mail that is UAA. See ACS and ASE in Section III for more information.
• Return ballot address options: You have several options where completed ballots will be mailed back, including the following:
• Use your office address and ZIP+4 code.
• Rent a Post Office box. This service allows you to pick up your mail during the hours the box lobby is open.
• Use Caller Service. Caller Service is a premium service available for a fee, which allows you to pick up mail at a Post Office call window or loading dock when the office is open..
• The importance of Election Mail visibility: Using unique Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb) on Election Mail gives you the ability to track the delivery and return of ballots. A unique IMb also allows the Postal Service to research and resolve potential delivery issues.
• Prepaid postage options on return ballots: Discuss how you presently manage mass mailings and review the pre-paid postage options available such as Qualified Business Reply Mail, Business Reply Mail, and Courtesy Reply Mail.