Do paper trails hel

CalTech/MIT Voting Proje

Ted Selker selker@media.mit

Familiarity /(Complexity + import)Perceptual & Motor AccessibilityFeedbackConsider Review and Change
Caltech/MIT 

Votes that coThe process has to 

Registration 1- 3 million +Registration is obsolete? tion is obsolete

Confusing ballot 1 -

2 million

Incumbent top on ballot?

Nov 2

Vote

Polling place operations 1 millionIntermediaries improve confidence?

Absentee ballots ??Rampant coercion?

Stolen or changed?People make mistakes
Technology isn’t only p

 Cook county card undercount variation .75 % to 39% no random! Paper

1.8%

 Punch Card 2.5 Optical Scan 1.5 Lever Machine

1.5

 DRE

2.3

 XML registration database verifier SAVE Secure Architecture for Voting Electronically Game machine V

oting machines

 Smart Ballot desig

n system

Technology we have been 

te

Databases

UI readers

Authenticators Verifiers
A+ checklist & Performance 

Knowledge and Action will he

Usability standards history :Test with ap

9New designs compared to performance bar9 Many problems found in tests with few peop

Perceptual & Motor Accessibility

9Perception, Cognition, Action, Social factor

Feedback

9Physical,Memory, Emotion

Consider, Mark, Review, Change and D

hi hi hi hi hi 
Perception & Motor Problem

2000 Elections

 Distinguish ability

9 Ambiguity: mislabel, association

Democr

9 Alignment Wrong o9 Viewable height/position in list

Everywh

9 Poor audio: 1 ... to select gore 2...to select Bus

h Accessib

 Feedback and Side effects 

9 Action

Several 

9 Undo ... action symmetry? Punch c9 Visual (x not counted)

Optical 

9 Completion

All but l

 Validation

9 Counted Ballots, 

 Mechanical

9 Difficult to pull, push, turn grab or reach Philadelp9 Dexterity, accuracy, Punch ca9

B

utton pressure DRE 
Interaction des

Many Voting Problems No

 Perceptual 

9 Graphical

9 View ability,Color, contrast, size, 9 Readability, Distinctions, Distinguishably 

9 Precognitive, cognitive, 9 Feedback; Proprioceptive, 

 Cognitive Interface

9 Precognitive recognition issues, Recognition VS Recall (except whe

9 Short term memory 7 +- 2 ( in 2 d), depth of info 2 or three

9 Cognitive load, syntactic, semantic. bored ... overloaded

 Social issues

9 You are doing Great...9 Your Vote Maters9 Androgynous Voice...

 Cognitive Styles

9 Verbal/ Visual9 Procedural/Conceptual9 Myers Briggs9 Physical, perceptual, psychological, neurological 
“Bad ballot design gave highest 

Keeting etal

 Two line names Size Crossing two columns  Two-page designs Running partner in same font  Position Language (YES NO)
Voters oriented and able to f
Voters oriented and able to f
Voters oriented and able to f
Best of Breed Experi

registration, authentication, inform, inte

 Best practices ameliorate problems

9 Getting filling out reviewing, changing and verifying 

 All Interfaces can be improved

9 Voter scan cards/paper, 9 take pictures of odometers...9 Current DRE’s can change software9Hot voting machines in a trailer

 Best of breed interaction designers 

9 Shadows, short term memory

 Best of breed testing 

9 Test on 1 to 5 people first9 Different tests/people for different stages/purposes
Problems have not been vote

•

Brevard 4000 Back end softw

•

Volusia 16022 Back end softw

•

Boone County 10000 Back end softw

•

Washington State

Altered paper 

•

Dallas

Destroyed pap

•

Many places replaced paper 

•

Georgia Not close enou

•

Indiana

?

User interface 

•

Recent Republican shown on UI

•

Mail in Absentee No secrecy 
Problems with a separate p

People can’t verify their recipts: Chicago (200

•

Connection broken

•

Paper out

•

Paper Jam

•

Ink out

•

Printer broken

•

Paper looks different

•

Different format than DRE

•

Separate thing to look at

•

Extra time & step for voting

•

No way for ballot worker to help

•

Lighting, rea

•

Special need

ADHD, bl

in

•

Several extr

worker

•

Collecting th

•

Ballots coul

•

Revoting

a m

day

•

Rereading b
Problems are norm

Experience is not enough; 

metrics and interaction design experti

 Admin & registration 20+% incorrect?

9 2 of 3 motor can be registered

 Setup Complex bu Voting difficulty matters:

9 Perceptual, Cognitive and Physical Special Needs9 11PM voting (1 minute or only vote for...)9 Separate decision from information?

 Advocacy 

9 palm cards 9 Absentee 9

...

 Backend

9 Bear kept them from submitting ballots, behind a door9 Reporting tallies, Volusia...9 Un controlled computer rooms ...
Ways to foil paper tr

Disenfranchise in all the normal way

Registration, ballot design, 

Change, lose, or add paperQuestion paper result in any wayPrint what they want to see (but don’
Coersion?

 We disagree so lets neither vote

9 15 years later one spouse had been voting all along

 Ballot marking parties at churches We like this guy 

9 Said a 45 year old child to their parent in a voting bo

 Nursing homes

9 They have a right to vote

 Palm cards Precinct Captain Ballot layout Order on Ballot Stand in voters

•Humilia•intimida•hand ov•Misinfo•Parallax 

–(arm 
Defense in Depth

Registration?Access to polling machine Orienting and focusing to know No coercion (other hands, palm cardsActions and undo obvious and availaFeedback that is interpretableObvious chance to consider and chanDemonstration that the vote was reco
Reference Platform: B

Renewed belief in governm

Electronic voting; 96, 98, 2000

996 Unisys 7% failure998 Procomp 92000 Procomp .02% failure 106,000,000 

Trusted Scientific organization 

9Create requirements

Trusted Technical organization 

9Create reference platform

Companies (5)

9Create demonsratable products for bid

Government election officials 

9Create open viewing and decision of vend
What will improve V

Follow Brasil’s example (assoicate

with b

 Separate Election commission, Equipment manufactures an

9Funded requirements gathering team outside e9Funded reference platform coding team outsid9Equipment inexpensive and replaceable throu

Performance based standards:All standards are relative to best of breed
Bringing in the HCI com

Ted Selker, technologist

Selker@media.mit.edu

 Doug Jones Iowa Election Board

9 Syste

ms and ballot design 

 Connie McCormack LA Registrar

9

What happens and what registrars want

 Clyde Terry NH Disabilities Council

9 Universal Design

 Ben Bederson UMD HCI Lab

9 How It could look

 Cliff Nass Stanford Communication Dept

9 Work with 

me please...

 John Cugini NIST Visualization Lab

9 Focusing on Voting and usability

 Paul Herrnson

UMD Political Science

9 Focusing on Voting and usability

 Ted Selker CalTech/MIT Voting Technology Project

9 Demonstrating usability i

mprovements

 Eric A. Fischer, Congressional Research Service, Library o Benjamin B.

Bederson, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, Univer

 Con

ny Mccormack, Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk, LA Cou

 Clifford Nass, Department of Communications, Stanford  Ted Selker CalTech/MIT Voting Technology Project

Workshop on Elections Standards Technology Conference 1/31/2002ACM C

HI Pannel on User interface inVoting

1/31/2003

NIST 12/11/2003
New Technology and Testing

Sorry partisans; 

Defense in Depth

Registration and Registration CheckingPolling place worker training materials

9 LA simple procedures, Chicago vague concepts

Ballot design (guidelines, experts and testSimple voting technology that makes it ea

9 Secure Architecture for Voting Electronically? 9 Specially handled Standard game machines or PCs ?

9 Never before used9 Each one has its own CD

Funded innovation everywhere (contracts ...Information and long voting times could r