Customer Support Ruling

Materials Mailed by Voting Registration Officials – Nonprofit Standard Mail
UPDATED January 2006

PS-310 (703.1.3.3)

This Customer Support Ruling discusses the acceptance of materials mailed by voting registration officials at Nonprofit Standard Mail (nonprofit) rates.

Eligibility to mail at nonprofit rates is established by federal statutes, which specify the types of organizations entitled to use those rates and what materials those organizations may mail. In 1993, legislation was enacted extending nonprofit mailing privileges to “State and local voting registration official[s].”

Mail submitted by voting registration officials is subject to each of the standards applicable to mail entered at nonprofit rates by other authorized mailers (e.g. quantity, preparation, eligibility as Standard Mail, not a cooperative mailing, compliance with content restrictions on advertising and products, etc.). Acceptance personnel should verify compliance with these standards in the same manner used with other authorized nonprofit mailers.

In addition, by statute, voting registration officials are subject to a restriction that does not apply to other authorized nonprofit mailers: specifically, “that the official certifies [that the mailing] is required or authorized by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.” This certification is included within postage statements and compliance with the statutory requirement is met when the voting registration official or the official’s agent signs and submits the postage statement. Acceptance personnel should not attempt an independent analysis whether the mail is “required or authorized by the National Voter Registration Act.”

(Signed)
Sherry Suggs
Manager
Mailing Standards
United States Postal Service
Washington DC 20260-3436