August 30, 2018

Proper Use of the Official Election Mail™ Logo

The Postal Service™ would like to remind mailers that the Official Election Mail™ logo is only for use on official government mailpieces authorized by an election official for mailing to or from a citizen of the United States for the purpose of participating in the voting process. It is improper to use it on any other type of mail, including Political Campaign Mail.

Examples of Official Election Mail include Mail-In Ballots, Absentee Ballots; Ballot Materials; Voter Registration Cards; Absentee Applications and Polling Place Notifications, and voter reply mail. The logo should be used on all classes of mail and all processing categories. However, it is not intended to upgrade service or substitute for postage.

Only federal, state, and local government voter registration and election officials may use the Official Election Mail logo. Green Tag 191, Domestic and International Ballots, may be used solely to identify trays containing ballots addressed for domestic or international delivery

Political Campaign Mail is mail created by a federal, state, or local political candidate, campaign committee, or other political message organization, including Political Action Committees (PACs), Super-PACs, and other organizations engaging in issue advocacy or voter mobilization, such as promoting political candidates, referenda, or campaigns. The Postal Service encourages mailers to use Red Tag 57, Political Campaign Mailing, to identify those trays and sacks containing Political Campaign Mail while in the mailstream.

Additional information regarding the use of the Official Election Mail logo can be found in Publication 631, Official Election Mail – Graphic Guidelines and Logos. For assistance with mailpiece design, contact a mailpiece design analyst (MDA) by calling the MDA Customer Service Help Desk at 855-593-6093 (hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. CT) or by sending your request by e-mail to mda@usps.gov.