A. The early ballot shall be one prepared for use in the precinct in which the applicant resides and, if a partisan primary election, of the political party with which the applicant is affiliated as shown by the affidavit of registration. The ballot shall be identical with the regular official ballots, except that it shall have printed or stamped on it "early".
B. The officer charged by law with the duty of preparing ballots at any election shall:
1. Prepare the official early ballot and deliver a sufficient number to the recorder or other officer in charge of elections not later than the thirty-third day before the election. Except as provided in section 16-542, subsection D, regular early ballots shall not be distributed to the general public before the beginning of early voting.
2. Ensure that the ballot return envelopes are of a type that does not reveal the voter's selections or political party affiliation and that is tamper evident when properly sealed.