Abstract:
A return envelope for a ballot on which the voter&#39;s address is printed has a folding flap configured so as to eliminate the possibility that the return envelope with an enclosed ballot will be returned to the voter&#39;s address and assures that it will be returned to the organization of service providing or conducting the election. The envelope flap also is folded so as to provide verification information from the voter while maintaining the contents of the envelope secret.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/497,033, filed Aug. 22, 2003. Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) is hereby claimed based on the provisional application. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to preprinted return mailing envelopes, and more particularly, to envelopes used for returning mail-in or absentee ballots, which envelopes contain unique information identifying a particular voter. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A significant number of ballots in various types of elections are cast via the mail. Ordinarily, the ballots and a return envelope are sent out in an original master envelope to the voter. The voter then marks the ballot, places it in the return envelope, and places the return envelope in the mail. The return envelope typically carries the address for the voter on the backside of the envelope. The original envelope has a see-through address window in it. The voter&#39;s address is located on the return envelope so that when it is mailed in the original envelope, the voter&#39;s address is visible through the window. The return address is printed on the front side of the return envelope, along with either an indication to place a stamp in the upper right-hand corner or that the postage is prepaid. 
   Although the postal service regulations call for the envelope to be delivered to the address on the side with the postage, it is still possible through human error for the envelope to be mailed or returned to the voter&#39;s address on the reverse side of the envelope. Many schemes have been attempted to eliminate this from happening, but it still occurs on occasion even though there is a notice on the reverse side of the return envelope that the mail service is not to deliver to the voter&#39;s address. If, of course, the envelope is returned to the incorrect address, that ballot may be postmarked and/or delivered too late for the particular election. 
   Some organizations and/or jurisdictions require a validation signature and/or affidavit. In the past, separate envelopes have been required for the signature and/or affidavit. It is desirable to eliminate the extra envelope and incorporate the validation signature and/or affidavit into the envelope carrying the voter&#39;s address and voter information. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention therefore provides a return envelope for a ballot on which the voter&#39;s address is printed, eliminates the possibility that the return envelope with an enclosed ballot will be returned to the voter&#39;s address, and assures that it will be returned to the organization or service provider conducting the election. In a preferred embodiment, the envelope has a front flap and rear flap joined to form a pocket at the upper end thereof. A third flap is joined to the upper edge of the front flap along a first zone of weakness. The third flap is foldable along the first zone of weakness in a rearward and downward direction to a first position located behind the rear flap. The third flap in the first position has an upper portion joined to the front flap along the first zone of weakness and a second portion joined to the first portion along a second zone of weakness. The first portion has first address information printed thereon and is visible when the third flap is in the first position. The first portion has identifying indicia thereon corresponding to the first address visible when the third flap is in the first position. The third flap is further foldable upwardly to a second position above the front flap. The lower portion is foldable rearwardly and downwardly when the third flap is in the second position to a third position behind the first portion. The first and second portions are then foldable downwardly and rearwardly from the third position to a fourth position behind the second flap to close the pocket. At least one of the second portion and the rear flap has an adhesive thereon for adhering the second portion to the rear flap to seal the envelope. 
   In another important embodiment of the invention, a voter affidavit, signature and/or instructional information is printed on the backside of at least one of the intermediate or outer portions of the third flap. In this embodiment, the upper edge of the rear flap is positioned below the upper edge of the front flap so as to expose an upper portion of the rear surface of the front flap. Adhesive is applied to the outer surface of the outer portion of the third flap so that when folded to the fourth position, the outer portion is sealed to both the upper portion of the front flap and to the rear flap. The intermediate portion of the third flap can then be separated from the envelope to reveal the information on the inside of the third flap without unsealing the envelope. This allows, for example, for signature verification of the voter before freeing a ballot from the envelope. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded isometric view of an original envelope and a return envelope constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 1A  is an isometric view of the front side of the return envelope; 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the reverse or backside of the return envelope showing the flap in an open position; 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are isometric views showing the flap of the return envelope being folded in accordance with the present invention to obscure the voter&#39;s address; 
       FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 A, and  8 B are isometric views of a second embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 9 ,  10 ,  11 , and  12  are isometric views of a third embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIGS. 13 ,  14 ,  15 A,  15 B,  16 A, and  16 B are isometric views of a fourth embodiment showing a modification that can be employed with both the second and third embodiments of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 1A , an original mailing envelope  20  and a ballot return envelope  22  are shown positioned so that the return envelope  22  can be inserted in the original mailing envelope  20 . When the voter receives the original envelope  20 , it contains the return envelope  22  and an appropriate ballot (not shown). The front side  24  of the return envelope  22  contains the address  26  of the organization conducting the balloting to which the envelope  22  is to be returned. This organization could be a municipality, county, state, or an organization, such as a union or bar association. The front side  24  of the return envelope has a location  28  for affixing postage. Alternatively, a notice that the postage is prepaid can be printed on the envelope at this location  28 . 
   The return envelope  22  carries a flap  30 , which is shown folded downwardly toward the backside  32  of the return envelope  22 . The flap  30  folds along a zone of weakness  34 , in this embodiment a score line located coincident with the upper edge of the return envelope  22 . Preferably, the flap  30  has its outer edge  36  positioned slightly above, but adjacent the lower edge  38  of the return envelope. The flap  30  may also have side edges that are tapered downwardly and inwardly toward the outer edge  36 . The flap  30  is divided into two portions, an intermediate portion  30   a  and an outer portion  30   b , in the preferred embodiment roughly in half, by a horizontal zone of weakness  40  extending horizontally across the central portion of the flap  30 . Preferably, the zone of weakness  40  is substantially parallel to the zone of weakness  34  at the upper edge of the envelope  22 . 
   On each return envelope, unique information is printed relating to the voter to whom the ballot is being sent. In the preferred embodiment, this information is printed on the outside of the flap  30 . Certain of this information  42  is printed on the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30 . This information  42  can contain, for example, a human readable form of the voter&#39;s unique information, for example, the voter&#39;s name and a bar code readable form of the voter&#39;s name and perhaps address. A human readable form of the voter&#39;s address  46  is positioned preferably on the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30 . This information  46  is positioned on the flap  30  so that it is viewable through a transparent window  48  in the original mailing envelope  20  when the return envelope  22  is inserted into the original envelope  20 . The flap  30  also carries one or more bands of adhesive  60 . These bands of adhesive  60  are positioned immediately below the zone of weakness  40 . The adhesive can be of the conventional wettable type or any of a variety of other adhesives, such as contact adhesives that adhere directly to paper or to juxtaposed bands of the same kind of adhesive. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , the flap  30  of the return envelope  22  is shown folded in an upward direction so that a ballot can be inserted in the pocket of the return envelope  22 . In this embodiment, a second set of adhesive bands  62  are positioned on the backside of the envelope at a location immediately above the zone of weakness  40  on the flap  30  when it is folded in a downward position. The second bands of adhesive  62  are shown in ghost outline in  FIG. 1 . 
   When the voter has completed his or her ballot, the ballot is inserted in the pocket  68  of the envelope  22  and the flap is folded as shown in  FIG. 3 . In some instances the ballot may be placed in a secrecy envelope (not shown) and the secrecy envelope inserted in the pocket  68 . After the ballot is inserted, the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30  is folded downwardly and inwardly toward the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap. This causes the bands of adhesive  60  on the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30  to be positioned on what is now effectively the inside of the flap. Also, because the original mailing address  46  of the voter was positioned on the outer portion  30   b  of the flap, it now resides on the inside of the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30 . When the bi-folded flap  30  is then folded downwardly along the original fold line  34  toward the backside  32  of the envelope, the bands of adhesive  60  on the lower half of the flap will mate with the second bands of adhesive  62  on the backside of the envelope. Because these adhesives are preferably of the type that adhere to each other when they come in contact, the envelope will then be sealed. Again, a variety of adhesives and adhesive types can be used. For example, if a wettable adhesive is used, it would preferably be positioned only in the location of the bands of adhesive  60  so that they can be easily moistened by the user before the bi-folded flap  30  is folded back on the backside  32  of the envelope  22 . 
   In  FIG. 4 , the return envelope  22  is shown in a sealed position. It will be noted that the human readable and machine readable voter information  42  is still readable on the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30 , but that the original mailing address of the voter is now obscured under the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30 . Thus, the original mailing address is not visible to be confused with the return address on the front side of the return envelope  22 . 
   Also, as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , the return envelope can contain further instructions  64  to the voter and a signature line  66 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the instructions  64  are printed on the upper half of the backside of the return envelope, while the signature line for the voter is positioned on the lower half of the backside of the envelope. Thus, when the envelope is folded and sealed as shown in  FIG. 4 , the signature  66  is readily visible for validation purposes without further manipulation of the envelope. 
   However, some election laws require or the organization conducting the election prefers that the signature of the voter be obscured from the ordinary observer as the return envelope is mailed through the mail to the balloting organization. Referring to  FIGS. 5-8 , a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated that allows the instructions/voter affidavit  64 ′ and signature  66 ′ of the voter to be hidden from ordinary view. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the return envelope  22  contains the same printed indicia  42  on the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30  and the same original address  46  on the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30 . The original mailing address and the original envelope  20  remain the same as in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment, however, a third band or bands of adhesive  70  are positioned adjacent the outer edge  36  of the flap  30 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , a mating band or bands of adhesive  72  are positioned on the backside  74  of the front panel of the return envelope just below the fold or score line  34 . The envelope itself is designed so that the upper edge  33  of the backside  32  of the envelope resides a small distance below the zone of weakness  34 . 
   In this embodiment, the instructions to and/or affidavit of the voter  64 ′ and the voter signature line  66 ′ are printed on the backside of the flap  30 . In this embodiment, the voter instructions/affidavit  64 ′ are printed on the backside of the outer portion  30   b  and the signature line  66 ′ is printed on the backside of the intermediate portion  30   a . When the outer portion  30   b  of the flap is folded inwardly toward the inner side of the intermediate portion  30   a  as shown in  FIG. 7  (similarly to the previous embodiment), the zones of adhesive  60  on the outer portion  30   b  now appear on what is effectively the backside of the flap  30 . Similarly, the band or bands of adhesive  70  adjacent the lower edge of the outer portion  30   b  also appear on what is now effectively the backside of the flap  30 . When the bi-folded flap is then folded down toward the backside  32  of the return envelope  22 , the bands of adhesive  60  mate with the bands of adhesive  62 , and similarly, the bands of adhesive  70  mate with the bands of adhesive  72 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 8A , the human readable and bar code readable information  42  for the voter are still clearly visible on the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30  while the original mailing address is obscured. The voter instructions/affidavit  64 ′ and signature line  66 ′, however, are also hidden between the bi-folded flap portions  30   a  and  30   b . As shown in  FIG. 8B , the voter information  64 ′ and signature  66 ′ can be made visible merely by slitting the envelope  22  along the original flap fold line  34 . This will free what was the inside end of the intermediate portion  30   a  and will allow it to be folded downwardly along the zone of weakness  40  to expose the affidavit information  64 ′ and signature line  66 ′. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 9-12 , an alternative to the just-described embodiment is illustrated. This embodiment is constructed and printed in a manner similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5-8  with the exception that the voter information/affidavit  64 ″ and signature line  66 ″ are both printed on the inside of the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30 . Bands of adhesive  70  and  72  are provided in the same locations as in the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 5-8 . In this embodiment, however, the zone of weakness  40  comprises a perforation. In addition, the upper fold line  34  is perforated as well. When the voter completes the signature, inserts the ballot, and folds the envelope flap, he/she does so as described in conjunction with  FIGS. 6-8  and as shown in  FIGS. 9 ,  10 , and  11 . This provides for a folded return configuration similar to that shown in  FIG. 8A . However, as shown in  FIG. 12 , because fold lines  34  and  40  are both perforated, a side of the intermediate portion  30   a  of the flap  30  can be grasped and peeled horizontally across the envelope allowing the perforations  34  and  40  to separate. After the intermediate portion  30   a  is removed, the voter information/affidavit  64 ″ and signature  66 ″ appearing on the backside of the outer portion  30   b  of the flap  30  will be visible. 
   The embodiments of  FIGS. 5-8  and  9 - 12  both use the strips of contact adhesive  60 ,  70 ,  62 , and  72 . Referring to  FIGS. 13-16 , and first to  FIG. 13 , these bands of contact adhesive can be replaced by a single large band of double-sided adhesive strip  100  that is preferably applied to the entire surface area of the outside of outer flap portion  30   b . The double-sided adhesive strip has a backside that adheres directly on contact to the rear surface of outer flap portion  30   b . The exterior surface of the double-sided adhesive strip has a peel-off protective strip  100   b  that prevents the outside of the adhesive strip  100  from adhering to anything until the protective strip  100   b  is removed. The outside surface of the protective strip is printable so that the original address  46 ′″ can be printed directly on the protective strip  100   b . The envelope is otherwise constructed in the same manner as the prior two embodiments. 
   As shown in  FIG. 14 , in use the voter&#39;s affidavit  64 ′ and signature  66 ′ can be placed on the inside of outer flap portion  30   b . As shown in  FIG. 15A , the outer flap portion  30   b  is then folded inwardly toward the back surface of intermediate portion  30   a . The peel-off strip  100   b  is then removed to expose the outside surface  100   a  of the double-sided adhesive strip as shown in  FIG. 15B . Flap portions  30   a  and  30   b  are then folded over simultaneously as shown in  FIG. 16A , at which point the adhesive strip  100  adheres to the region  102  of the envelope that was occupied by adhesive zones  72  in the prior embodiment and to the backside of the envelope  22  to seal the ballot or other contents inside the envelope. 
   In this embodiment, the zones of weakness  34  and  40  shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  are perforated as in the embodiment described in conjunction with  FIGS. 9-12 . As a consequence, the intermediate flap portion  30   a  can then be peeled from the envelope  22  without revealing the envelope&#39;s contents, but revealing the voter affidavit  64 ′″ and the voter signature  66 ′″ as shown in  FIG. 16B . If the affidavit is satisfactory, the envelope can then be unsealed and the ballot removed. If, on the other hand, the affidavit is for some reason invalid, the envelope is never opened, ensuring that the ballot is not miscounted. 
   The double-sided adhesive strip can be employed in conjunction with the second embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5-8  in a manner virtually identical to that just described in the current embodiment. 
   While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.