Breaking BarriersBallot access and plain language

Kathryn SummersUniversity of Baltimore

Whitney QuesenberyCenter for Civic Design

NRDN 2016, Baltimore, MD

Raising the bar for

usability and

accessibility

How far have we come?

From 2000 to 2015

Design makes a difference to voters...

...and can affect election outcomes

Better Ballots (2008)

Design Deficiencies

and Lost Votes

(2011)

Better Design: Better

Elections (2012)

Technology is now 'everyday'

The explosion of mobile devices came after

the federal voting system guidelines

I feel like technology is

finally catching up with

what I truly need.

Glenda Watson Hyatt DoItMyselfBlog.com

Pushing the boundaries of inclusion

Usability

Accessibility

Accommodation

Assistance

Push the boundaries

Thanks to David Baquis of the Access Board for this concept

Accessible. But usable? Used?

Make voters feel

like experts

...not students

"Human-Centered Design for the Voting

Experience" Stanford Social Innovation Review

How long will I have to

be there?- New citizen, Pasadena

I don't know too much

about voting. That's why

I stopped doing it.- 21 year old, Modesto

I do have one

question.

What do you

actually do

when you vote?- 18 year old, Baltimore

Why is election information so hard?

Jargon

Low literacy

Civic literacy gaps

Information gaps we heard about in

the California Voter Bill of Rights

• There are options for how and when you vote

• You can get a new ballot if you make a mistake

• The whole idea of provisional ballots

• You can vote if you are in line when the polls close

• You can vote after a conviction for a felony

• What is a primary election?

Trying to explain primaries

Primary election...

What's that?

What's different?

Who can vote?

What happens?

Who do we vote for?

Why do it like this?

Learn to think like a voter...

It's not just simpler words, but the

designing the entire experience

Words that make sense to them

Designing for a narrow field of view

Repeating information at the right time

... to anticipate their needs

The secret is usability testing...

...with many different types of voters

Designing an election

system that includes

all voters

Election design principles

Plain interaction

Plain language

Design for reading

Give voters control

Plain interaction

Simple linear flow

Better

Voters can miss instructions that are on the side of the screen because they are focused on the main interactive area.

Scrolling

Scroll bars are difficult for many to understand and use But swipe gestures on mobile devices are more intuitive.

Easier

Alternatives to scrolling

Make the controls visible and part of the linear flow.

Plain language

43% of adults can only read simple

sentences.

From the National Assessment of Adult Literacy

Clear, unambiguous words

BeforeReview your choices

Better

AfterReview what you're voting for

Don’t require inferences or

arithmetic

“You could have voted for 4 candidates and you only voted for 2”

Became

“You voted for 2 people. You can vote for 2 more.”

Design for reading

Large enough text

Contrast beyond WGAG 2.0

Sans serif font

Give voters control

Meaningful messages & instructions

Unclear messages

on optical scanner

caused

submission of

many “overvoted”

ballots.

- New York 2010

Proposed revision to the overvote message. An updated version was implemented.

Give voters control

Messages that say the right thing

Communicating with

voters across civic

and reading literacy

gaps

Election information principles

Design and write to minimize the effort

it takes to learn about voting

Help voters find their way

Make instructions visual

Keep the design uncluttered

Help voters understand measures

Make vote by mail simpler

Help voters find their way

Answer voters' questions

Help readers find their way: Provide a roadmap

through information or process.

Show readers where they are: Use headings on

each page and within content.

Include overview and details. Make it easy to get

the main point quickly.

Write in bites, snacks and meals

Bite: Shortest possible explanation

Snack: Summary, with enough information for an experienced voter

Meal: Full details or instructions

HT to Leslie O'Flavahan

Use the cover for a quick 'bite' of

information

Key information on this page- County - Title of book- Election- Where’s your polling place- Contact info

Who is this from?

What is this book?

What, and when, is this election?

Where’s my polling place?

How can I get in touch?

Make information visual

Support words with pictures

Show the big steps in instructions. Provide a

accurate instructional illustrations.

Identify communication types: Signal web,

phone, and so on with images

Use color sparingly: Call attention, identify

languages, type of voter, or election year

Make the important words stand out

Help voters read measures

Voters said that they

"always read" this page

even though it's a newly

designed page.

It's just enough information

for them to get started,

and have some context for

the pages that follow.

Make vote-by-mail simpler

It's harder than it looks.

First, there's a legal form (and a

mistake means your vote won't

count)...

...and...

The whole process is complicated

Instructions that covered

voting to mailing make a

difference.

What might future

election systems look

like?

EZ Ballot

Georgia Tech – CATEA | AVTI

Anywhere Ballot

University of Baltimore | Center for Civic Design | Oxide Design Co | AVTI

Electronic pollbooks

Election Administrators EveryoneCounts

Votec

KnowINK

Robis Elections

Voter registration forms

Online tools for many parts of the

election process

Election design can

delight voters

Start from election design principles

Meet voters' needs for easy interaction,

plain language, and clear design

Test with voters

Invite everyone into the process

Photos: ITIF AVTI/CATEA

Resources

How voters get information: Best practices manual for official voter information guides in California

Available from https://cavotes.org/download-best-practices-manualWebinars: http://civicd.link/BPRwebinars

Field Guides to Ensuring Voter IntentDesign guidelines for election officials, based on solid research and best practices

Available from http://civicdesign.org/fieldguides/

Get in touch!

Whitney Quesenbery

whitney@civicdesign.org

@name

Kathryn Summers

ksummers@ubalt.edu

civicdesign.org

@civicdesign

Thank you.