Print Labels for Mail Ballot Packages
This topic explains how to print one or more address labels for ballots
mailed to voters. The label information is printed on Avery type labels.
You can print multiple labels for each voter to accommodate the way
your county handles ballot mailings. The first label has a bar code. This
label is designed to be used as the return address label for the envelope
in which the ballot is returned to the elections office. If you choose
to print additional labels, the second might be used as the mailing label
on the outer envelope, while a third might be affixed to the ballot stub
(the tear-off tab on the ballot). See Label Layout for more information. The layout is hard-coded in Voter Focus and cannot be modified as can the envelope layout.
The label printing capability is divided into separate batches—called
run types—described here. Each run type typically has
its own requirements for envelope preparation or the items inserted in
the envelope, so you should process each run type every time you create
labels.
Note: If you
are creating labels for advance ballots, only the following run types
are needed, but be aware that advance ballots are only used in rare circumstances.
OverseasMilitary
Overseas
Civilian
Absent Domestic
Military
Email
Fax
Each label run type reevaluates voters' current registration status,
party, and precinct to determine their current eligibility and ballot
style. This assures you that a voter who makes a mail ballot request and
then moves to another precinct or party prior to the run will receive
the correct ballot for their new precinct/party. Voters who moved out of
county after making a request, or who became ineligible for some other
reason, are included in the Absentee
Requests not provided Ballots list in the report produced
by the run.
Prior to the assignment of ballot styles to precincts (and designation
of the federal election style for Fed Elections Only
voters), voters who make a mail ballot request for the election will have
XXX in the Style
column on the Vote-By-Mail tab of their record. The
reevaluation by the run also examines these voters and replaces the
XXX placeholders of eligible
voters with the appropriate ballot styles.
The printing of mail ballot labels causes an update to each voter record
indicating that a mail ballot for the election has been delivered. You
should be aware that reversing the update requires making a manual adjustment
to each voter's record, so do not print labels until you are certain you
are doing so at the appropriate time.
Note: For counties using
the USPS Confirm One Interface: Due to size restrictions,
the Intelligent Mail Barcode is not printed on absentee labels.
Before you begin this process:
- Set the election status
to Active. See Election's
Status for information on changing the election status.
- Verify that all voting
precincts have ballot style assignments. See Assign Ballot Styles for instructions on ballot style
assignment.
If the labels do not print properly, see Reprint a Run of Mail-Ballot Labels or Envelopes.
To print voter information on labels:
- Ensure
that the election you want is in focus.
- Go
to Vote By Mail > Vote-By-Mail Options.
- On
the Envelopes and Labels
tab:
- Make any modifications
you want to the sort sequence.
- Select
the number of labels to print. The first label contains a bar code;
subsequent labels do not.
- From
the Label Size drop-down list,
select the label size that matches your label printer sheets.
- Clear
the check box Print Vote-By-Mail
Envelopes.
- On
the Label
Printers tab, verify that the settings for label printing are
correct for your office.
- Click Exit.
- Go to
Vote By Mail > Deliver Ballots.
- On the
Deliver Ballots dialog,
select the type of run (for example, OverseasMilitary). Each of the run types has different requirements for
envelope preparation or the items inserted, so they must be run in separate
batches. You should process each run type every time you create labels.
Note: Military Dependents are included in the Overseas Military, Domestic Military, Absent
Domestic Military, Email, and Fax runs.
- If you
want to limit the print run to a specified number of voters, enter the
number in Maximum ballots to print.
- Verify
that Export to Mail House and Pitney Bowes are not selected.
- In the
Mailing Date field, enter the
date that the packages are scheduled to be mailed. This date
will appear on the Vote-By-Mail tab of voter records, so that workers will be able to advise voters
who want to know when their ballots were mailed. Click OK.
Note: The
mailing date cannot be in the past. If you enter a date that is more than
15 days in the future, you will see a message that the ballots cannot
be return processed until after the mailing date.
- Select
the ballot styles to be included in this print run.
- Click
OK. Voter Focus generates an onscreen
report
of voters for whom labels will be printed and the totals for each ballot
style. The report also lists any voters who requested a mail ballot, but
who will not be included in the print run and the reason why. Review the
report carefully to verify it lists the voters you intend to include in
the print run. If there are any errors, fix them and start again with
step 3.
- When you
are certain that the list is accurate, click Update
to continue. Clicking Update also
changes the status of the voters’ mail ballot requests for this election
from Absentee Ballot Requested
to Delivered as of the mailing
date you specified in step 7.
- On the
Windows Print dialog, select the
printer where the label sheets are loaded and click Print.
When you see the message Printing of
Labels is Complete, the print run is finished. (For mail elections,
this confirmation does not appear. This is to allow the run to be completed
in an overnight session.)
- If the
Ordered List of
Absentee Labels generated above shows any voters who requested a ballot
but were not included in the run, print the report and research each exception
to determine if they should have received a ballot.
