2008 POLITICAL CAMPAIGN MAILING SEASON

The American electorate votes on numerous political offices and issues each year and 2008 looks to be a busy election year. The upcoming year includes elections for 33 U.S. Senate seats and all members of the House of Representatives. In addition, approximately 44 states and the District of Columbia have presidential primaries scheduled January through March next year. Before the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, local and state primaries, special elections and general elections will be taking place across the country. This can be a hectic time for political candidates, campaign committees and committees of political parties.

Mailings are created by individual candidates, their campaign organizations and local, state, and national committees of political parties. If your campaign organization is planning to prepare its own mailings using volunteers, it is best to determine if any of your campaign workers and volunteers have recent mail preparation experience. Your local Post Office can provide assistance and answer any questions you may have.

MAILING ASSISTANCE

Committees of political parties, candidates and the candidates’ campaign organizations should contact the Post Office where they currently hold mailing permits or plan to apply for a mailing permit, and obtain necessary information on mail preparation standards, procedures and hours and days of business mail acceptance. Verify the status of any mailing permits and nonprofit authorizations, if applicable, as well as information on eligible rates, including automation rates and destination entry plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) mailings. A listing of all domestic mail prices can be found on Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com, click Ratefold (Notice 123).

Your Post Office can review proper preparation, makeup and handling of mailings. It can explain the use and associated costs of ancillary service endorsements, and advise of any restrictions as to what can and may not be mailed as Standard Mail and what can be mailed at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates.

MAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS

Political campaign workers and staff may be unfamiliar with mailing standards and how USPS processes and delivers the mail, resulting in unrealistic plans. Obtaining the assistance of a mailing professional, such as a letter shop or presort bureau, means getting sound advice before printing and making commitments about preferred mailpiece designs and characteristics, optimum addressing and automation features, and ideal mailing schedules to enable timely delivery.

Letter shops and presort bureaus specialize in preparing mailings for customers. Some of these businesses can take care of the entire mail preparation process, from printing your mailpiece to entering your mailing at the Post Office. You can find these businesses by doing a Web search or by looking in the phone book under “letter shops,” “mailing services” or “printing.” Also, see the article “Connecting to Mail-Related Services,” on page 9. Mail service providers can help you:

• Obtain an address list.
• Design and print your mailpieces.
• Sort your mailpieces.
• Possibly reduce your postage.
• Enter your mail into the mailstream.

GENERAL REMINDERS

• The shape of the mailpiece is now a significant factor in the price you pay. Our price structures provide opportunities for mailers to obtain lower rates if they can reconfigure mailpieces into mail shapes that reduce postal processing costs.
• Discount mailings are subject to specific volume, marking and preparation requirements and must be entered at a business mail entry unit of the Post Office where the permit is held and the annual mailing fee paid for the class of mail being used.
• Mailpieces paid with precanceled stamps must bear a complete domestic return address.
• New postage statements were issued May 14 and older editions are no longer acceptable. Current postage statements can be obtained from your local Post Office, as well as online at pe.usps.com, click Postage Statements. Then click First Class, Priority and Express Mail Forms, or Standard Mail Forms, as appropriate.
• If you enter mailings at Post Offices supported by PostalOne!, you can take advantage of this system’s ability to submit postage statements using a secure Internet connection. All you need is an Internet connection and a logon ID. The system offers different features for mail owners as well as mailing agents. For additional information, go to usps.com/postalone and under New Customers – Apply for a PostalOne! account, click Learn More.
• “Machinable letters” (automation-compatible letters not barcoded by the mailer) now have simplified preparation. Except for origin/entry 3-digit trays, if applicable, preparation now consists of automated area distribution center (AADC) and mixed AADC tray preparation.

MailPro
News for Mailing Professionals

Average daily number of First-Class cards and letters mailed: 82 million. Number of First-Class cards and letters mailed on Dec. 17, the busiest mailing day of the year: 275 million.