Of Paper Ballots and Free Postage: How Things Work
May 8, 2007

For printers, an important federal entity is the U.S. Congress Committee on House Administration. They have been charged with disbursing $3 billion to fund voting reform—in a number of cases financing shifts to electronic voting machines, then backtracking to replace the machines with scannable paper ballots.

Paperless ballots banned On Tuesday, May 8, the House Committee on Administration approved the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 811), which would ban paperless voting machines and require all voting to either be done directly on paper, or on machines that create a paper trail. The proposed rule reads:

‘All voter-verified paper ballots required to be used under this Act. . .shall be marked, printed, or recorded on durable paper of archival quality capable of withstanding multiple counts and recounts without compromising the fundamental integrity of the ballots, and capable of retaining the information marked, printed, or recorded on them for the full duration of the retention and preservation period called for by title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 [i.e. 22 months]. It is sponsored by Congressman Rush Holt (D-N.J.).

The committee also pays the printing and postage bills for 435 members of the House of Representatives, which tallied $24 million last year. Each month the U.S. Postal Service prepares a Franked Mail Monthly Statement listing the postage expenses of all Franked mail.

The purpose of the print and mailing support is to keep citizens informed. But the use of such mailings has a tendency to rise unnaturally as elections near. So the Committee has established a stringent 66-page rule book governing everything from how many times the Congressperson may be referred to in the first person (eight times per page), to how may times their picture can appear (once). Similarly e-news and Website contents are restricted.

Among other rules:

–Services required in support of the printing and production of committee hearings and prints are provided to each committee by the Government Printing Office. ‘This includes up to 150 copies of committee hearings or prints on matters germane to the committee’s jurisdiction. Additional copies, the total cost of which does not exceed $700, may be printed when authorized and approved by the Joint Committee on Printing. Any additional copies may be subject to the adoption of a House resolution authorizing such printing.’

– The binding of a maximum of four sets (two sets each for the Majority and the Minority) of each committee publication for retention and permanent use by the committee.

– A committee may hire an individual or acquire a detailee on loan from GPO to provide assistance in support of the printing requirements of the committee. To request the detailing of a GPO employee, the Committee Chair should submit a request in writing to the Public Printer, c/o Congressional Printing and Management Division, GPO, Room C730, Washington, DC 20401.

– Official stationery (official committee letterhead, envelopes, roll call forms, etc.) is procured from the GPO. Contact the Congressional Printing and Management Division of GPO at (202) 512-0224 and the Office of Printing Services (OPS) at x51908 for stationery requests.

Prohbited are:
a. Seals other than the Great Seal, Congressional Seal, or State Seal
b. Any Slogan
c. Private entity information or endorsement
d. Campaign contact information (e.g. address, phone number, e-mail address)
e. Greetings

Official stationery may be used only for a letter or other document the content of which complies with the Franking Regulations.

Of special importance to printers who want to pitch Congressional offices directly for work:

–Ordinary and necessary expenses for business cards for committee employees are reimbursable. Cards must contain the name of the committee and accurately describe the position to which the employee has been appointed.

–Ordinary and necessary expenses related to the purchase of stationery (writing paper, press or news release letterhead, etc.) are reimbursable. Committees may purchase the stationery from OPS or an outside vendor.

This just in:
Jerry Smith, director of Information Services at Pittsburg State University, announced the appointment of Jason Kermashek as manager of Printing and Postal Services at PSU.

HP has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Arteis, a privately held company that operates Logoworks, a leading distributed web-based graphic design service provider.
HP plans to leverage Logoworks’ technologies and services to provide small businesses with access to low-cost professional design solutions. Supported by hundreds of graphic designers worldwide, Logoworks’ packages range from simple logo design to the development of a full suite of marketing collateral.

Posted by on May 8, 2007 | Comments (0)