# Presentation: 175958

## Effective Designs for the Administration of Federal Elections

**Karen Lynn-Dyson,  Research Director**
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- April 16, 2008

## Background

- HAVA 241(b)(2) and 302(b) mandate that EAC study ballot designs for elections for Federal Office.
- Based on research from May 2006-January 2007, EAC released “*Effective Designs for the Administration of Federal Elections*” in July 2007.

## Background

- Study based on 10 research events
- Observed 4 rural and urban primary elections in Nebraska and New Jersey
- Conducted field interviews with voters, poll workers and administrators
- Consulted with experts
- LEOs, 20 literacy instructors, manufacturers
- Conducted 54 usability evaluations in 7 states, with more than 44 representative voters

## Planning Election Design Changes

- Election Official needs to:
- Establish a baseline for future improvements by evaluating current election & getting voter feedback before & after election
- Establish an approval process for election design changes
- Estimate the value & impact of design changes
- Emphasize voter needs over administrative & vendor requirements

## Planning Election Design Changes

- Election Official needs to consult with:
- A S_imple Language Expert_ – someone who can edit language content for low-literacy voters
- A D_esigner_ – someone familiar with poll worker practices who will oversee ballot design process
- A _Usability Expert_ – someone who will ensure that the voting process is clear and easy to understand
- A T_ranslator_ – someone to translate content for non-English speakers
- A _Cultural Expert_ – someone who will check ballot materials for cultural relevance
- A _Policy Advisor_ – someone who can help jurisdiction navigate legal & PR issues pertaining to ballot design changes

## Critical Design Elements

- Language and Content:
- Use clear, simple language
- Use one (maximum two) languages per ballot
- Provide summaries for long ballot measures
- When transliterating names, consultation with a language expert is recommended in order to avoid overtly positive or negative meanings in sound-based characters
- Text Use and Size:
- Use a minimum of 12 point san-serif font, with 2 point line spacing, left-aligned, upper and lower case letters
- The Univers type font is common, consistent, and readable
- Use only 40-60 characters per line
- All candidates in a contest should be given the same amount of vertical space. If a candidate’s name must break onto a second line, the vertical space for all candidates should be changed to match

## Critical Design Elements

- Color:
- Use just one color for instructions on optical scan ballots
- Cyan is recommended
- Titles in white against colored background are easiest to read
- Use colors to emphasize important info
- If color can not be used, change all colored areas to 10% black
- Icons and Graphics:
- Using instructive symbols like     or                   can be helpful to less literate voters
- Political party icons are often confusing to voters
- Illustrative diagrams should accurately reflect the ballot type & voting equipment

## Printing HAVA-Mandated Signs

- HAVA mandates several items be posted at polling place
- Fabrication time varies
- _7-14 days_: Voter’s Bill of Rights; Sample Ballots (for doors, walls, and tabletops); Voting Instructions (for booths); Precinct Identification & Polling Place Information

## Printing HAVA-Mandated Signs

- _5-6 days_: Special Voting Rules; Voting Instructions
- _2-3 days_: ‘Vote Here’ Banner; Vote by Touchscreen; Return Ballot
- _Immediate_: ‘Vote Here’ Door Sign; Election Official Stickers; Accessible Entrance Door Signs

## Ballot Design Principles for Different Machine Types

- Optical Scan Ballots
- Include page number out of total pages in multipage ballots, ie page ‘2 of 5’
- Selections should be marked into an oval to the left of candidate names
- When ballots are in more than one language, print English name of language, ie ‘Cantonese’ or ‘Mandarin’
- Ballots should have 40-60 characters per line and use at least 12 point font
- Embedding ballot instructions in ballots supports greater focus and autonomy for users
- Ballot instructions should be self-contained and separated from contest data

## Ballot Design Principles for Different Machine Types

- Principles for both Full Face DRE & Rolling DRE machines:
- Ensure that screen settings for language choices, text size, contrast & audio support are readily available and easy to change
- Ensure that voters can easily review and change their votes at any point in the ballot
- Use upper and lowercase sans serif type at a minimum size of 25 points
- Avoid using center alignment, all capital letters, or multiple fonts

## Ballot Design Principles for Different Machine Types

- Full Face DRE
- Consideration should be given to candidate name order being rotated from precinct to precinct, so that all candidates will be listed first in roughly an equal number of precincts
- Information about the specific election (ie, date, county) should be placed above the left column of every ballot page.
- Including instructive phrases like ‘Vote for 1 pair’ or ‘Vote for up to 5’ at the top of ballot sections is a recommended best practice

## Ballot Design Principles for Different Machine Types

- Rolling DRE Ballot
- First, present voters with the choice of their preferred language before they begin voting
- Direct voters next to a welcome screen which allows them to: a) begin voting, b) learn how to use the ballot, c) see a list of the questions, d) change screen settings
- Allow voters to use a “skip” button if they wish to first vote in a different contest
- When a voter makes a choice, their choice should be highlighted and a checkmark should appear.

## Ballot Design Principles for Different Machine Types

- Rolling DRE Ballot
- ‘Vote counters’ should be located on the left hand size which alert the voter to the number of votes remaining in a given contest. Ex) Voter has 5 votes for city council, he/she selects one, vote counter should read ‘4’
- For lengthy candidate lists, a brightly colored bar should appear at the bottom of the screen which reads ‘touch here to see additional candidates’
- Before submitting their ballot, voters should be able to visit a ‘review screen’ from which they can print their selections