Usability, Accessibility and Ballot Design:

What lawmakers need to know

Whitney QuesenberyCenter for Civic Design@civicdesign | civicdesign.org

NCSL Policy and Elections TechnologyJune 3-5, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Democracy is a design problem

The code behind the reality

Laws andregulationsAnother code behind reality.

Often anything but plain

Hiding complexity

And avoiding unintended consequences

http://amyhouckonline.com/

I was trying to make the print bigger

so elderly people in Palm Beach County can read it.

We sent out sample ballots to all registered voters, and no one said a word.

Theresa LaPoreSupervisor of Elections

Palm Beach County

November 2000

When you look at the ballot paper...

You get a different view than the one a voter sees.That's why usability testing is important.

When voters can't understand the ballot, forms, and information,they think that elections are difficult, confusing, and complicated

(And they don't vote.)

A Voter Friendly Ballotfor New York State

Lever machine layoutOptical scan ballot

And they were all different

New York City

Vertical layout

NY State Election Code 7-106(8)8. The space for the title of an office shall be three-eighths of an inch, and the name of a candidate or for writing in a name, one-fourth of an inch, in depth. At the left of the name of each designated candidate shall be an enclosed voting space, three-eighths of an inch in width and approximately one-fourth of an inch in depth, bounded above, below and to the right by black lines, heavier than those which separate the spaces containing the names of candidates. To the left of voting spaces which do not adjoin a vertical line dividing two parts, there shall be a heavy black vertical line approximately one-eighth of an inch in width. No voting space shall be provided in the space for writing in names. In such case, the space corresponding to a voting space shall be all black.

Demonstration ballot design

Demonstration ballot design

Instructions in the code5. The following ballot instructions shall be printed in heavy black type :

INSTRUCTIONS (1) Mark only with a writing instrument provided by the board of elections.(2) To vote for a candidate whose name is printed on this ballot fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) above or next to the name of the candidate.(3) To vote for a person whose name is not printed on this ballot write or stamp his or her name in the space labeled “write-in” that appears (insert at the bottom of the column, the end of the row or at the bottom of the candidate names, as applicable) for such office (and, if required by the voting system in use at such election, the instructions shall also include “and fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) corresponding with the write-in space in which you have written in a name”).(4) To vote yes or no on a proposal, if any, that appears on the (indicate where on the ballot the proposal may appear) fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) that corresponds to your vote.(5) Any other mark or writing, or any erasure made on this ballot outside the voting squares or blank spaces provided for voting will void this entire ballot.(6) Do not overvote. If you select a greater number of candidates than there are vacancies to be filled, your ballot will be void for that public office, party position or proposal.(7) If you tear, or deface, or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and obtain another. Do not attempt to correct mistakes on the ballot by making erasures or cross outs. Erasures or cross outs may invalidate all or part of your ballot. Prior to submitting your ballot, if you make a mistake in completing the ballot or wish to change your ballot choices, you may obtain and complete a new ballot. You have a right to a replacement ballot upon return of the original ballot.(8) After completing your ballot, insert it into the ballot scanner and wait for the notice that your ballot has been successfully scanned. If no such notice appears, seek the assistance of an election inspector.

How to vote356 words

(1) Mark only with a writing instrument provided by the board of elections.

(2) To vote for a candidate whose name is printed on this ballot fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) above or next to the name of the candidate.

(3) To vote for a person whose name is not printed on this ballot write or stamp his or her name in the space labeled “write-in” that appears (insert at the bottom of the column, the end of the row or at the bottom of the candidate names, as applicable) for such office (and, if required by the voting system in use at such election, the instructions shall also include “and fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) corresponding with the write-in space in which you have written in a name”).

(4) To vote yes or no on a proposal, if any, that appears on the (indicate where on the ballot the proposal may appear) fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) that corresponds to your vote.

(5) Any other mark or writing, or any erasure made on this ballot outside the voting squares or blank spaces provided for voting will void this entire ballot.

(6) Do not overvote. If you select a greater number of candidates than there are vacancies to be filled, your ballot will be void for that public office, party position or proposal.

(7) If you tear, or deface, or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and obtain another. Do not attempt to correct mistakes on the ballot by making erasures or cross outs. Erasures or cross outs may invalidate all or part of your ballot. Prior to submitting your ballot, if you make a mistake in completing the ballot or wish to change your ballot choices, you may obtain and complete a new ballot. You have a right to a replacement ballot upon return of the original ballot.

(8) After completing your ballot, insert it into the ballot scanner and wait for the notice that your ballot has been successfully scanned. If no such notice appears, seek the assistance of an election inspector.

How to vote 106 words

Mark the oval to the left of the name of your choice.

To vote for a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot, print the name clearly in the box labeled 'write-in', staying within the box.

Do not make any marks outside the spaces provided for voting. If you do, your ballot may not count.

The number of choices is listed for each contest. Do not mark the ballot for more candidates than allowed. If you do, your vote in that contest will not count.

If you make a mistake, or want to change your vote, ask a poll worker for a new ballot.

California Voter Bill of Rights

California Voter Bill of Rights

Read it online: http://civicdesign.org/projects/how-voters-get-information/

What if it was easier to read?

California Newswire

43% of Americans do not read well

Below basic

30 million

14%

Basic

63 million

29%

Intermediate

95 million

44%

Proficient

28 million

13%

U.S. National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 2003 http://nces.ed.gov/naal/kf_demographics.asp

Below basic – only the most simple and concrete reading skills: Labels, simple signs, Basic – able to manage everyday tasks: basic instructionsIntermediate – moderately challenging activities like consulting reference material, newspapersProficient – interpreting text, comparing viewpoints, arguments

Even simple words can be hard

When we tested the Anywhere Ballot, voters were confused by the word "choices."Changing this to "Review your voters" solved the problem

civicdesign.org/projects/anywhereballot

Absentee Ballot Instructions in Minnesota

Minnesota 2008-2009

Instructions in 2008

Text revisions (in many rounds)

Many people contributed to the revisions: Dana Botka, Josephine Scott, Ginny Redish & others

Illustrations for each step

Christina Zyzniewski created all the illustrations

Usability testing at the public library

UPA volunteers: Gretchen Enger, Josh Carroll, Suzanne Currie, John Dusek (along with Minnesota’s Beth Fraser, Andy Lokken)

Forregisteredvoters

Forunregisteredvoters

Returnenvelopesbefore and after

Ballot Measures

What is this asking?This constitutional amendment would provide that the method of selection and appointment of certain municipal court judges would be set by statute, rather than be provided for in the Constitution. These judges may include judges of joint municipal courts and judges of central municipal courts with jurisdiction extending to the territorial boundaries of a county.

This constitutional amendment does not preclude the possibility that a statute would continue to provide for nomination by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, but it does permit a statute to set forth another method of selection and appointment that may not involve the Governor and the Senate.

Should the Franklin County Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program and vehicle registration fees (one dollar per vehicle and an additional two dollars for certain commercial vehicles payable upon registration of a vehicle) be renewed for a ten-year term beginning July 1, 2013, for the abatement and removal of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, orinoperative vehicles?

A “yes” vote on this measure continues the current program for 10 years and the county will continue to remove vehicles abandoned on a public street.Two thirds (66%) of those voting must vote “yes” for it to pass.

A “no” vote means that the program will end as of June 30, 2013.

What is this asking?

A few last thoughts

Illegitimi noncarborundum*

* Change is hard

Photo: mtstcil.org

There's a lot of forces behind difficult-to-read information

We've always done it like that! The curse of completeness. It's legal. It's supposed to sound

like that. We don't have the resources. Voters can't tell the difference.

Plain information is important because people...

have different degrees of literacy

do not always read carefully. may have a cognitive disability or a visual disability that can

affect reading. may not know (or read) the

language well

Because voters can tell the difference

Report of Findings: Use of Language in Ballot Instructions, NIST IR 7556

No preference

Plain language version

Traditional version

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

9

82

9

Preference for style of instructions(% of participants)

We know how to fix that

Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent

Order a copy from civicdesign.org

Download the manual from

civicdesign.orgorcavotes.org

Get in touch!

Whitney Quesenberywhitneyq@civicdesign.org@whitneyq

civicdesign.org@civicdesign