How Does Ballot Printing Work?

Introduction

Processes as important as elections require thorough behind-the-scenes work. Most voters don’t think about ballot printing during election season, but it’s a task that needs to be completed properly in order for voting to run smoothly.

Before every election, county officials determine how ballot printing will be handled for voters in their jurisdiction. They consider the needs of those voting in-person as well as those voting by mail, and they ensure that ballots are produced securely and with accurate information. This blog shows you how they do it.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the types of ballots that county officials need to have printed, and how the election printing process works. You’ll also learn about other documents that need to be printed during election season, such as voter registration forms and voter registration cards. Finally, you’ll discover how print vendors keep the production process secure, and the qualities that county officials should be looking for in an outsource print provider.

Key Takeaways

• Ballot printing is a specialized and regulated process that requires precision, security, and compliance at every step.
• Counties may manage hundreds of unique ballot styles in a single election cycle, and quality control is an important concern.
• Ballot printers follow strict data protection and chain of custody standards.
• Choosing the right ballot printing partner helps election season run smoothly. Scalability and security are key qualities to analyze in any potential provider.
• D4 Solutions is a vendor equipped to handle your election printing needs. Our 99.99% operational accuracy rate and our status as a SOC 2 Type II audited firm allow us to print ballots efficiently and securely.

Understanding Ballot Printing

The ballot printing process involves designing, producing, and preparing election ballots for official use. Here are some of the types of ballots you may need to have printed, each of which serves a different function during election season:

• In-person ballots that are used at polling places.
• Vote by mail or absentee ballots, individually personalized for registered voters.
• Sample ballots, sent ahead of time to inform voters of the candidates and measures that will appear on the official ballot.
• Provisional ballots, which are used when the eligibility status of an in-person voter is uncertain. Provisional ballots are separated from regular ballots and tabulated later, after definitively determining whether a given voter is registered to vote in a particular precinct.

Each type of ballot requires detailed handling based on state and local election regulations. Layout, paper stock, security features, and barcoding all need to be taken into account when printing and distributing ballots.

Ballot printing runs must be precise, quick, and scalable. Counties need to provide all voters with the correct ballots on election day if there are multiple districts in their jurisdiction. The process must ensure that no duplicate or mismatched ballots are produced and that ballot design is compatible with scanning technology used by election equipment.

Ballot printing is a technical and civic responsibility, and accurate ballot printing provides all with the ability to make their voices heard in the democratic process, without confusion or delays.

The Ballot Printing Process: From Design to Distribution

Producing ballots for an election is a highly structured process. Here are the steps in that process, along with the quality checks and documentation requirements that your ballots should meet at each phase:

1. Prepress, Design, and Proofing

The first step is ballot design and layout configuration. Election officials supply print providers with the content that is on each ballot, including candidate names, contests, propositions, and district-specific measures. Individual voters and locations have unique ballot requirements, so many counties manage large volumes of ballot styles in a single cycle. Designers arrange contests in standardized and readable formats, in accordance with any ballot layout requirements that jurisdictions enact.

An important part of the preprint process is ballot proofing. This is an intensive review process that verifies candidate names, translations for multilingual ballots, and whether ballot layout aligns with the voting equipment used at local polling places.

2. Printing and Quality Control

Once approved, the final files move to production. Ballots are printed at facilities that enact stringent data security protocols. Paper stock is carefully selected for durability and scanner compatibility. Paper weight and capacity are also considered so that there is no ink bleed-through and that ballots are machine readable.

During printing, ballots are serialized or barcoded to track counts and maintain accountability. Strict reconciliation procedures confirm that the number of ballots printed matches the approved count.

3. Finishing, Inserting, and Preparation for Mailing

After printing, ballots move through finishing stages such as cutting, folding, and collating. For in-person voting, ballots are packaged by precinct or by polling location. For vote by mail ballots, each printed ballot is paired with the appropriate envelope set, which includes accompanying instructions for voters and other documents. Automated inserting systems match each personalized ballot with the correct envelope set using barcodes or tracking identifiers, so that all voters receive the right ballots.

4. Chain of Custody and Tracking

A documented chain of custody is maintained throughout the ballot printing process. Ballots are stored, transferred, and delivered securely. Each handoff is logged to preserve traceability, which prevents unauthorized access and tampering.

Vote By Mail Ballots

Vote by mail ballots have become a central component of modern elections. They make voting a much more convenient process for individuals. At the same time, they add additional logistical complexity for election administrators and print providers. Vote by mail ballots must be produced, packaged, and tracked in ways that preserve ballot secrecy and guarantee correct delivery.

Personalization of vote by mail ballots is a key part of the ballot printing process. Each voter must receive the correct ballot style for their precinct or district, and outer envelopes must contain each voter’s name and tracking barcodes unique to each individual. Variable data printing from outsource print providers allows the same print run to produce thousands of correctly styled and customized ballots by automatically swapping names, layouts, and languages.

Vote By Mail Registration Forms

Election offices use vote by mail registration forms to allow eligible voters to update their mailing address, apply for permanent vote by mail status, and request a ballot for a specific election.

Vote by mail registration forms are often printed and distributed at scale, and efficient production requires high-speed presses, precise cutting and folding, and consistent color reproduction for seals and official insignia.

Voter Registration Card Printing

Voter registration cards serve as official confirmation of a voter’s registration status and polling assignment. While they don’t replace an ID or ballot, they help reduce confusion, direct voters to the correct polling location, and maintain accurate election records.

Voter cards confirm that a person is registered to vote and list key details such as the voter’s name, address, registration number, precinct, and assigned polling place. Because these cards are issued by official election authorities, they must convey legitimacy and be resistant to counterfeiting or alteration.

Producing voter cards involves managing personally identifiable information such as home addresses and full names. Print providers must follow strict data-handling policies to comply with federal and state privacy laws. During the pre-print process, data transfers are end-to-end encrypted and files are stored in secure servers accessible only to authorized personnel. While printing, serialized batch tracking confirms that each voter card matches its intended recipient and that no duplicates are produced.

Security And Compliance In Ballot Printing

Ballot printing begins with the transfer of sensitive voter and election data from election offices to the print provider. This data typically includes district assignments, ballot styles, and voter identifiers. Information is transferred via SFTP or other methods of secure file transfer, and print providers maintain strict access control policies that limit who can view and edit print files.

During the printing process, user authentication policies prevent unauthorized users from accessing or changing voter information. Data retention policies ensure that all digital files are deleted or archived in accordance with contractual requirements once the project concludes.

Every ballot that is printed, mailed, or distributed is accounted for through a documented chain of custody. Serial numbers or barcodes are assigned to each print batch, and reconciliations are performed at every stage to confirm that ballot count matches what is specified in the service agreement.

Many ballot printing facilities obtain independent audits to prove they have the ability to properly safeguard data. Completion of a SOC 2 Type II audit is the gold standard for data security, and it demonstrates adherence to best practices for data management and operational integrity.

Choosing A Trusted Ballot Printing Partner

Selecting a ballot printing partner is an important decision for any election office. A qualified provider must prioritize accuracy, timeliness, and compliance. Election officials should examine any potential printing vendor’s certifications and systems to confirm that they are the right fit for the job. Here’s a list of qualities to consider when deciding on a ballot printing provider:

• Production Capacity and Redundancy: Counties and states often require hundreds of unique ballot styles in a single election cycle. A capable ballot printing partner maintains sufficient press capacity and staff to meet tight deadlines, even if demand spikes or equipment fails. Scalable production infrastructure and backup workflows prevent bottlenecks and protect against disruptions.

• Mail Integration Capabilities: The right ballot printing partner is one that can manage the full print-to-mail process for all election documents, including in-person forms, vote by mail materials, and voter registration cards. Automated envelope insertion and USPS Intelligent Mail barcode tracking reduce handling risks and improve turnaround times.

• Data Security and Tracking Systems: Since ballot printing involves sensitive voter data, print partners must follow strict cybersecurity and access-control policies. Encrypted data transfers and complete audit logs safeguard voter information. Transparency is another key concern, and election offices should expect real-time production tracking and documented chain-of-custody reports that log when each ballot is printed and mailed.

Choosing a ballot printing partner with a proven security record and demonstrated ability to scale will help election season run smoothly.

D4 Solutions: Your Election Printing Partner

If you need ballots, registration forms, or voter registration cards printed accurately, securely, and within deadlines, D4 Solutions is equipped for the job.

Personalizing ballots, envelopes, and voter cards at the scale required for election printing is difficult to accomplish in-house. D4 Solutions can efficiently and automatically customize your documents and envelopes with the right voter information, no matter how complex or large the print run is and no matter what types of documents are being printed.

At D4 Solutions, we know how to keep voter information protected during the ballot printing process. Our employees are trained in how to properly handle personally identifiable information, and we take measures to ensure that voter data is only accessed by those who have permission to do so. Only authorized personnel are allowed to enter the printing floor, and our printers are monitored with security cameras during the entire print run.

We track mailpieces throughout the postal stream using the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb). We maintain dedicated and complete audit trails via the use of QR/2D barcodes and customizable web portals with reporting capabilities. Our technology is equipped with two-factor authentication to keep voter information secure. All data sent to D4 Solutions is encrypted in transit and at rest, and we use automated selective inserting to verify that each mailpiece has the correct documents. Our processes are SOC 2 Type II audited, demonstrating our constant commitment to data security.

We know how important it is to follow specifications exactly, every time. Each project at D4 Solutions is assigned a dedicated project manager, who meets with your team as often as you need to ask questions and to keep everything on track. We run comprehensive test cycles before printing to verify how your documents will look on the production floor, and we get your final approval before starting our print runs. The dedication of our team gives D4 Solutions a 99.99% operational accuracy rate.

No matter the ballot printing challenges you face, D4 is here to help you handle it.

Conclusion

For elections to run smoothly, the right ballots must be distributed to each voter. Because of this, secure and accurate ballot printing is one of the most essential behind-the-scenes operations in any election.

Facility access controls, automated quality checks, end-to-end data encryption, and detailed tracking systems keep voter data protected during the ballot printing process.

Election offices rely on ballot printing vendors with the certifications and the infrastructure to manage secure and complex print runs and mail distribution. A trusted partner understands compliance and logistics, ensuring that no step of the process introduces risk or delay.

D4 Solutions is a SOC 2 Type II audited print and mail vendor with 45 years of print experience. We ask the right questions and complete vigorous test cycles, which lets us print ballots, voter registration materials, and voter registration cards according to your exact requirements.  Reach out to learn how D4 Solutions can optimize your election printing workflows.