Postal Pointers: Military Absentee Ballot Mail
This year, military personnel and overseas voters with APO/FPO addresses can return absentee ballots using a new Express Mail Label 11DOD.
The blue Express Mail label will be affixed to the top of the absentee ballot return envelope or flat. The absentee ballot return label may be used on envelopes as small as a No. 10 or as large as a flat-sized parcel.
The new label is unique. It’s only intended for use with absentee ballots originating from overseas military postal locations. The Express Mail shipments bearing the new label will arrive from International Service Centers in Express Mail sacks and must remain in the Express Mail stream to the delivery unit.
The Waiver of Signature request and “Guaranteed By End Of Day” endorsement are printed on the blue label. Deviation for delivery by a specific time isn’t necessary. However, shipments should always be delivered on the day they arrive at the delivery Post Office.
The new label is the result of a joint effort by the Postal Service and the Military Postal Service Agency of the Department of Defense. It was created in response to the recently signed Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. The new law makes it easier for absentee military troops and other overseas voters to register and vote and to help make sure their ballots arrive in time to be counted.
Express Mail Label 11DOD will allow military personnel stationed abroad to track their vote all the way to the county or parrish election office, and also generate new revenue for the Postal Service.
For more information about putting your mail on hold, purchasing stamps, stamps by mail, postal regulations, a free subscription to USA Philatelic magazine, Post Office events, the location of the nearest postal store or contract unit, or for answers to your specific Postal Service questions, contact USPS at 1-800-275-8777, or visit www.usps.com. To schedule a presentation for your community, club or group on how the Postal Service brings the Post Office to your home or office computer, call 573-9638.
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.