Section I. Determining the Appropriate Class of Mail to Use The class of mail you use to send your pieces depends on the following: What are you mailing (e.g., ballots, newsletters, voter registration)? Does your mailpiece contain personal information? How are the mailpieces designed (e.g., dimensions, weight, card vs. envelope)? How quickly do you need the pieces delivered? How many pieces do you have? Do you want free forwarding and/or return (if pieces cannot be forwarded)? Will you require extra services (e.g., Certified Mail service, which provides you with a mailing receipt and delivery status)? The main classes of mail you will want to consider are First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail. Completed ballots mailed by voters are First-Class Mail, regardless of whether they are prepaid by election officials or mailed with a stamp affixed by the voter. The only situation where completed domestic, non-military ballots are not First-Class Mail is where the voter opts instead to pay for a premium service like Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express. As for blank ballots and other Election Mail mailed to voters, the Postal Service continues to recommend that election officials use First-Class Mail. Using First-Class Mail allows for faster service while maintaining high visibility as the ballot moves through the mailstream [when used with USPS visibility tools, like serialized Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb)]. Nevertheless, the Postal Service has long engaged in several practices to prioritize ballots that are entered as Marketing Mail, regardless of the paid class, when capacity permits and when the mailpieces are identifiable as ballots by the Official Election Mail logo or other Postal Service indicia. The Postal Service will continue to process and deliver ballots expeditiously, as we have done in past elections, with the result being that ballots commonly receive delivery timeframes similar to First-Class Mail even when they are mailed as Marketing Mail. The following table summarizes the important features of each.   Class of Mail Speed of Service* Free Forwarding and Return Secure Destruction Extra Services Presort Discounts Single Piece IMb First-Class Mail 2–5 days Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes USPS Marketing Mail 3–10 days No No Only for Parcels Yes No Yes Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail 3–10 days No No Only for Parcels Yes No Yes *Actual delivery times may vary depending on mail entry origin and destination.