What's in the Sample Ballot Export File for BlueCrest?

The file layout described here is produced by the output option Simplified Export for Commercial Printer. It is typically used to export a list of voters to the BlueCrest (formerly Pitney Bowes) Relia-Vote system for sample ballot runs, but can be used by any county wanting a more simple export file than the standard FlexRep export.

The file is an extract of county voter information, listing all voters who are eligible to vote in a specified election, except:

  • Voters who were sent a mail ballot.
  • Voters who early voted.

You have the option of excluding voters whose registration status is Inactive, thus restricting the mailing to Active voters only.

For each voter, the file contains their:

Voter registration ID

Party

Name

Precinct and polling place information

Address

Ballot style

Sample-Ballots-by-Email setting

Public email address

Addresses are formatted to meet CASS certification requirements so the mailing can be eligible for certain postage discounts.

The type of address is specified by you when you run the job. It can be:

  • Vote-By-Mail address (either the Ballot Address for this Election or the Default Ballot Address)
  • Mailing address
  • Residential address

If a voter does not have the type of address you specified, Voter Focus will look for the next type of address, using its usual protocol for selecting a voter's address. For example, if a voter does not have a Ballot Address for this Election, Voter Focus will look for a Default Ballot Address. If none exists, Voter Focus will then look for a mailing address. If none exists, the residential address will be used. If you specify mailing address, Voter Focus does not look for Vote-By-Mail addresses at all: if a voter does not have a mailing address, it will use the residential address.

You can have Voter Focus output the export file as a straight text (TXT) file or compressed in a ZIP file. If you decide on a ZIP file, we recommend you also choose the option to create a work file, which is simply an uncompressed copy of the export file. Before transferring the file to the BlueCrest system, you’ll need to examine it for errors. Having an uncompressed version to review makes this step a bit easier.