Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the State Board of Elections regulations requiring intelligent mail barcodes and Official Election Mail insignia on outer absentee ballots as well as on the return envelope for these ballots. Verified Voting is a national non-partisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen democracy for all voters by promoting the responsible use of technology in elections As part of this work, we have long advocated for voter-marked paper ballots, and we support the use of mail ballots as a secure method for voters to cast their votes. We recognize, therefore, the importance of ensuring that all such ballots are received and returned in a timely manner. 

Verified Voting supports these additional steps to ensure election mail is properly marked and can be tracked both as it goes out to voters and as it is returned. In every election, voters need to feel confident that their votes are counted. These additional mailing envelope elements serve to lessen concerns about ballots being lost in the mail, which can deter voters from using mail ballots. This November's election presents unique challenges due to COVID-19, so we are pleased to see Virginia taking extra steps to help voters cast their ballots in a safe and secure manner. 

In addition to ballot tracking, we encourage the Department of Elections to work with local registrars to educate voters on what steps to take if they encounter issues with ballot envelopes going astray (either outgoing or inbound).

Virginia has taken many steps, including no excuse absentee voting, to ensure voters have options for safely and securely casting their ballots even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding additional features like ballot tracking and Election Mail Insignia are common sense measures to keep voters' ballots secure and increase voters' confidence that their votes will be counted.