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IACREOTJuly 1, 2015
Designing a Ballot:A work of art AND science
Whitney QuesenberyCenter for Civic Design
Sharon LaskowskiNIST
IntroductionsWho are we?
Sharon Laskowski
Research and guidance for improving the usability and accessibility of voting systems since 2002
NIST and the Help America Vote Act 2004 report: “Improving the Usability and
Accessibility of Voting Systems” VVSG: Usability and accessibility requirements
and testing Research for next generation of voting and
election systems
[email protected] vote.nist.gov
Whitney Quesenbery
Center for Civic Design: Ensuring voter intent through design. We do research on how voters get information and use ballots and other election materials.
Member of the TGDC, worked on VVSG 1.0 and draft 1.1
Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent The Anywhere Ballot Best practices for voter guides
[email protected] civicdesign.org
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)
A few more examples of design having an impact on election results
Year Where What
2000 Florida Butterfly ballot
2002 Sarasota A contest "hidden" at the top of the page led to undervotes
2006 Arkansas Tall people selected candidate below their choice due to touch screen angle
2008 Missouri Inconsistent labels led to more undervotes for one contest on a ballot
Message matter, too
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.
There is guidance and research for good ballot design
VVSG has both design and performance standards (usability testing)
AIGA Design for Democracy www.aiga.org/election-project/
Center for Civic Design Field Guides EAC Accessible Voting Technology Initiative
Anywhere Ballot EZ Ballot PRIME III voting system primevotingsystem.com/ Summary in Accessible Voting Technology Portal
vote.nist.gov
Future visionsA roadmap for next generation voting system guidance for usability and accessibility
Why now? New technologies, new research, new laws,
and new elections procedures since the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines were writte
Changes to the state of the art and technology for voting systems
Changes to public expectations about how voters will participate in elections
“Voting should be the most convenient government service as voting is a right and not just a privilege.” - Stephen Booth, NFB
Goals for the usability and accessibility roadmap
A path forward to
Raise the "usability IQ" in elections
Make systems more usable for everyone
Guidance in the right form for the right purpose (not just certification requirements)
Who is developing the roadmap?
NIST, Center for Civic Design, and the election community
Think about the entire voter journey
Learn: Voter questions
Do: Voter activities
Use: Election systems
People: Voters interact with
Policy: Election law
The roadmap:
Priorities and objectives through the entire process
VotersPoll workers
Election officialsSystem
designersSystem testersVoter advocates
Support the design
process
Engage voters effectively
Address the entire voting journey
Support evolving technology
Provide useful guidance &
standards
Improve testing in
certification & design
Many forms of guidance work together
Draft report: civicdesign.org/projects/roadmap/
New technologyRevisiting the guidance and standards
Everyday technology has changed...
The explosion of mobile devices came after the VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 were drafted
I feel like technology is finally catching up with what I truly need.
Glenda Watson Hyatt DoItMyselfBlog.com
New technology can let us include more people in base voting systems
Push the boundaries
From usability to accessibility, minimizing the need for accommodations or assistance
Election design principles Create a clear, linear flow through the ballot. Use language that is simple and easy to
understand. Make the ballot look easy to read. Prompt voters with actions and choices. Provide immediate feedback to all actions. Make it easy to fix mistakes. Support users’ preferences and accessibility
needs. Give voters control of all actions that make or
change a ballot selection.
Plain interactionSimple 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
VVSG 3.2.6.a The electronic ballot interface shall not require page scrolling by the voter
Easier
Scroll bars are difficult for many to understand and useBut swipe gestures on mobile devices are more intuitive.
Alternatives to scrolling
Make the controls visible and part of the linear flow.
Break content in the middle of a line to show that there is more information.
Plain language43% of adults can only read simple sentences.
From the National Assessment of Adult Literacy
Plain langageClear, unambiguous words
BeforeReview your choices
Better
AfterReview what you're voting for
Font sizes
VVSG 3.2.5.d A voting system that uses an electronic image display shall be capable of showing all information in at least two font sizes: 3.0-4.0 mm and 6.3-6.9mm
Font and typography
VVSG 3.2.5.f Text intended for the voter should be presented in a sans serif font.
http://www.terminaldesign.com/fonts/clearviewada-complete-family/
Contrast
VVSG 3.2.5.a - Minimum uniform diffuse ambient contrast ratio for 500 lx illuminance: 10:1
WCAG 2.0 - The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 7:1
This is 7:1
This is 10:1
This is b&w
What could a ballot look like?Research inspired design
EZ Ballot
Georgia Tech – CATEA
Ballot Marking Device
OSET Foundation
Anywhere Ballot
Center for Civic Design | Oxide Design Co
E-pollbooks – examples of new design
Election Administrators EveryoneCounts
Votec
KnowINK
Robis Elections
Invite everyone into the process
Photos: ITIF AVTI/CATEA
Ballot design can delight votersStart from election design principles
Meet voters' needs for easy interaction, plain language, and clear design
Test with voters
Thank you.
Sharon [email protected]
Whitney [email protected]@civicdesign @whitney
www.slideshare.net/civicdesign
