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Exports: Create a Mailing List

How to use Basic Counts and Advanced Counts to set up a mailing list for mailers and address labels

FLS Help avatar
Written by FLS Help
Updated over 3 months ago

Voter records can be formatted and downloaded using Basic Counts or Advanced Counts into a Mailing List, which is set up to be used for contacting voters by mail or as the data source for creating mailing labels. The Mailing List style is the default export option for downloading voter records, which automatically apply householding rules to ensure only one address is listed for sending out mail pieces. The list is formatted to apply the voter's mailing (secondary) address if different from the voter's registered (primary) address.

Step 1: Select Geographic Area

Use the Geography or Precinct categories to select the area for your contact list.

Geography

  • County: select the County Name

  • Congressional District (CD): select the U.S. Representative District

  • State Senate District (SD): select the Upper House District

  • State House District (LD): select the Lower House District

  • City: select the registered city name

  • Zip Code: select the registered address zip code

  • Census Block: add the Census Block value

  • DMA: add the Designated Market Area (or Media Market)

  • Custom Districts: many states use Custom Districts for adding County Council Districts, School Districts, Townships, and other geographic areas

  • Custom Geography (Advanced Counts only): use an interactive map to select a group of voters

Precincts

The Precinct or Election District is the smallest geographic location used in the voter database. Select options for By County, By CD (Congressional District), By LD (State Legislative District) or By SD (State Senate District) to select the Precinct Name for your list. Precincts may be subdivided by Ward, Ballot Box or other jurisdictional areas.

Step 2: Filter Voters and Use Has Moved/Deceased

Use the Voter Information and other categories to target voters in your list. For example, go to Voter Info > Calculated Party to add Hard Republican voters.

Using Has Moved and Deceased Filters

Remove records from your list that may result in returned mail using these filters:

  • Has Moved: records are identified as "Moved" through user updates and when the voter's registered address contains a National Change of Address flag.

  • Is Deceased: records are marked "Deceased" through user updates from the Find a Voter tool.

Step 3: Prepare Voter List

Preview your count results and verify the voter and household record counts are what you are expecting. Prepare your exported voter list by selecting Export Count (Basic Counts) or Export File (Advanced Counts).

Export Options are automatically set up to create a Mailing List by default. Pre-selected options include:

  • Mailing List style: includes fields for registered address, secondary (mailing) address, and USPS delivery codes.

  • Households - Only Qualified Members: contact information will apply to the first household member who matches your count criteria.

  • Sort by Voter Within Precincts: address records are sorted by precinct name and voter name in alphabetical order.

  • Household Format: John & Jane Smith/The Smith Household. The list's first column includes the salutation for a letter or addressing the household in a mailer.

  • Export File Name: set as My Export or can be renamed.

  • Export File Format: set as CSV (Comma-Delimited Values) and can be changed as Excel (XLS/XLSX) or Access Database (MDB) file types.

Step 4: Export and Download Mailing List

Select Export Data Now to submit your export request to the processing queue. Go to My Data > My Exports to review progress and to download the completed file.

Step 5: Using Your Mailing List

The default Mailing List style options are formatted to be used for creating mailers without any modifications to the original record data. Records from a mailing list may also be applied for other voter contact projects, including:

  1. Personalizing campaign materials with the voter or household name

  2. Creating mailing labels using the Mail Merge feature for word processing applications

  3. Contacting voters in person using address information

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