# Processing Readiness of Election and Political Mail During the 2020 General Elections
> **Audit** by U.S. Postal Service OIG · 2020-08-31
> *About: U.S. Postal Service*
## Report
- **Title:** Processing Readiness of Election and Political Mail During the 2020 General Elections
- **Submitting OIG:** U.S. Postal Service OIG
- **Component agency:** U.S. Postal Service
- **Type:** Audit
- **Publication date:** 2020-08-31

## Summary

The Postal Service plays a vital role in the American democratic process and this role continues to grow as the volume of Election and Political Mail increases. In addition to the next general election, which will be held November 3, 2020, there will be federal elections for all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate. There will also be 13 state and territorial elections for governor and numerous other state and local elections.


## Recommendations

- **Rec 1** (Closed): Leverage established partnerships with state and local election officials to work toward creating a separate, simplified mail product exclusively for Election Mail that would support uniform mail processing, including mandatory mailpiece tracking and…
- **Rec 2** (Closed): Ensure mail processing facilities perform an accurate daily certification that they are clear of Election and Political Mail using the Operational Clean Sweep Search Checklist.
- **Rec 3** (Closed): Clearly define roles, responsibilities, and oversight to ensure that the Political and Election Mail Audit Checklist is completed; and define timeframes for completion during election season.
- **Rec 4** (Closed): Ensure mail processing facilities use and maintain the standardized Election and Political Mail log for each operation.
- **Rec 5** (Closed): Implement best practices identified during our audit and continue educating election officials on identified best practices to increase nationwide Election and Political Mail readiness.
## Source
- [oversight.gov report page](https://www.oversight.gov/reports/audit/processing-readiness-election-and-political-mail-during-2020-general-elections)
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