Whether it’s called vote-at-home, absentee voting or vote by mail, this year the voting process has received increased attention as states and localities wrestle with running an election while doing their best to protect voters from COVID-19. With everyone tuned in to the process, rumor and questions and have run rampant across social media and through conversations, while answers seem to be few and far between. We reached out to Brook Spaulding, Market Development Manager for W+D (Winkler + Dünnebier) for the Paper Matters Podcast, because of his familiarity with vote-at-home and his ability to answer our questions. Here are a few highlights from our conversation, in which Brook walked us through the importance of the envelope in voting by mail, current trends and how something as simple as the envelope does a lot of heavy lifting in the mailing process.

The Importance of the Envelope in Voting

Brook makes it clear from the beginning that he understands what’s going on in our electoral process and that he’s familiar with voting by mail. “I like the term vote at home,” he clarifies, “I think that really communicates what’s happening and States in the US have been doing that for years and years. The trends are clear and a lot more personalized content makes it more relevant.” Throughout the podcast, Brook touches on several more points, including:

• Demand for equipment that processes vote by mail or absentee ballots
• Benefits of voting at home
• How a unique ballot travels through the mail system.
• Best practices to consider for envelope design, paper and processing.

Brook’s knowledge of direct mail is a welcome asset to our discussion, especially as we get into the finer details of print, prompting him to leave us with some advice; “In terms of avoiding mistakes, it’s really important to remember quality in, quality out. This is not the time to skimp on raw materials and you want ballots to lay flat and you want everything to be legible, printable and foldable.” And although he was talking about paper, Brook’s advice is applicable to much more. If you take one thing away from our discussion with Brook, it should be “Quality in, quality out.” Whether it’s paper, podcasts or personal endeavors, seek out the best.

For more quality content, check out our other podcasts or look through the resources below.

Resources

• Download our Election Voting Paper Guide and Vote By Mail Envelope Guide
• Visit domtar.com for our blog, request print promotions and much more
• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter