INSERTING

There are many insertion machines out there. From tabletop units to units that can fill an entire room. However, not all units are created equal. Some are workhorses, but lack technical capability. Some handle very complex jobs but are not designed for speed or volume. Others are technically very capable and fast, but require multiple people, each one needing months of training. At ElectionIQ, we use one of the most advanced and user-friendly units on the market. Specifically designed to be operated by a single user who needs little technical knowhow. Sometimes people get sick and others must fill their shoes. Our system’s ease of use allows anyone to jump in at any time. This ensures we are always up and running, which means your mail ALWAYS gets out on time. Furthermore our units are specially configured for maximum flexibility that is specifically ballot-centric. Lastly, our inserting systems have industry-leading accountability and auditing giving us the ability to tell clients exactly what went in every envelope, when it happened, and who did it. In fact, our system is the same one used by Department of Homeland Security, City of Cleveland, Fidelity Investments, and States of Ohio, New York, Texas, South Carolina, New Mexico.

CAMERA MATCHING

Every ballot must be correct. Every envelope must have the correct contents. Each voter must get matching ballot, carrier envelope, and return envelope every time. To ensure you don’t get unwanted phone calls about people getting someone else’s ballot or envelope we employ a series of high tech cameras throughout the insertion process. Each camera matches each piece back to the master record sent to us by you – the client. This ensures every piece is perfectly matched, every time. While others use cheaper 2D bar code readers, we use cameras. Why? Because this allows us to read multiple types of data from bar-codes to QR codes and from OCR text to special characters, giving us (and our clients) maximum flexibility and capability to ensure your ballots go out right every time. Want more? Most printers only have 2, occasionally 3 camera match capability. At ElectionIQ, we can handle up to 5 camera match points, exceeding our competition.

Knowing where your data is, and what the status, of your mailing is a must in elections. Over the years we have watched scrutiny grow and needs of election officials increase. Moreover, we know that giving you information empowers you and helps you do your job better. To that end, our team has worked to create a system that not only organizes the process on our end, but also gives you the ability to track your data throughout the entire process from the time you transmit it to us to the point where it is delivered to the USPS. Using our state-of-the-art project management system you can see when a file is processed, ready for print. printing, stuffing, waiting to go to USPS and more. Best of all you have complete access to this information 7/24/365 via the web, eliminating the need to contact us and wait for a response. It’s your data, you should know exactly what’s happening to it.

These days the USPS has its share of issues. Mailing ballots has gotten more and more stressful. We aim to ease that stress. We also aim to add transparency to the entire process. That’s why we offer two different levels of tracking.

Batch Tracking – included as part of our vote-by-mail offerings is our batch processing that allows you to track the mailing (as a single batch) through the USPS. You will be able to see how much of the daily batch is en route, delivered, late, etc. Additionally you can see the geographic makeup of the batch along with overall performance of the USPS.

Individual Tracking – In addition to our included batch tracking it an option for voter level tracking. This enables you to see an individual voter’s ballot and where it is. Even better, it allows direct engagement with the voter by allowing the voter to track his/her ballot on their own without contacting the office. This reduces annoying and time-consuming phone calls to your office that ultimately you can’t answer.

Knowledge is power. The more you have, the better you can do your job, and the better you can control the narrative around how your elections go. Time after time, I have found a reporter or conspiracy theorist disarmed because an election official was able to give them detailed information about how something goes and what the current status is. Having information can make everyone’s lives easier. And that’s our goal – making your life easier. Hence why we give you detailed audit information that allows you to account for just about everything to do with your mail ballots. We track and log how many records you send, how many are processed in our presort process, how many are printed, how many are stuffed, and how many are delivered to USPS. You’ll know who touched your data at each step. You will see which ballots we pulled to QC before mailing. We will be able to tell you which post office we drop your ballots at each day, along with who dropped them, and at what time. Additionally, our software on our inserter can tell you what each camera reads at each step of insertion telling you which version/number of each piece went into each envelope. Best of all, you don’t have to ask for this. We post it daily to your online portal for you to grab at your convenience, ensuring you always have the data needed at your fingertips.

As we have all found out, the USPS isn’t as reliable as we thought. Too much can go wrong when we need it to work. To deal with this we bring you the ElectionIQ Mail Network. Find out more below.