Five reasons to learn about design in election administration!

Yes, this is a shameless plug.

Starting in January, we are teaching our Election Design course again at the Humphrey School, University of Minnesota Election Academy.  It’s a chance to learn about how design makes a difference in election administration!

The team at Center for Civic Design teaches it.  You can take it in the comfort of your own home or office, even while wearing your bunny slippers because it’s all online. There are no prerequisites except being ready to learn techniques for delivering the best possible experience for voters.

We have taught the course since 2016 with current and prospective election officials, civic engagement advocates, and people just interested in the topic, so you’ll get a tested curriculum that we’re confident fits into your work.

If you loved the Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent, in this course you will learn more about those concepts and dive deep into everything we couldn’t fit into a pocket guide. The course is a full semester-long, giving you time to explore each topic. It’s entirely remote so there are no travel costs, and you can fit the work into your busy schedule.

1. Every election official is really an election designer.
Every time you write a notice, share news on social media or update a form, you are designing. This course will help you be a more intentional designer and communicate more clearly. It’s a good career move.

2. It’s practical.
There are no papers to write. No long journal articles to read. The entire course is structured around practical exercises based on real problems in election administration. We encourage students to work on materials from their own experience and to collaborate with others.

• If you are already working in an election department, you can get a jump start on improving the design of anything (or everything) in your office.
• If you want to work in an election department, you’ll leave the course with a portfolio that will make your resume shine.
• If you are a designer who wants to know more about election design, you’ll leave with a strong understanding of the constraints and opportunities – knowledge you can put to use in any civic design project.

3. You’ll learn with and from others.
Remote learning doesn’t have to be lonely.  We encourage positive sharing, learning from others, and collaboration. All the class materials are online, and so is our class discussion, so you can be part of the class community no matter what time zone you live in.

4. Usability testing!
Admit it. You love the idea but have never been able to give it a try. We spend 2 units to get you started, supporting you all the way. Gathering input from users (voters, candidates, and others) is part of all the assignments, so you’ll have plenty of chances to build your skills. You’ll leave the course with confidence because you’ll get guidance and practice. You’ll be a usability testing champ.

5. Teachers you can talk to.
You’ll have two super-experienced election designers (that’s us) teaching the course and leading you through the material, with feedback every week. The topics and materials are drawn from our years of work in commercial user experience and election design in dozens of states, with plenty of examples. We love teaching. We also love learning from our students.

Course outline
Week 1: Election design and the voter journey
Week 2-3:  Plain language and writing instructions
Weeks 4-5: Introduction to usability testing
Week 6: Accessibility
Week 7: Course Project: select your project
Week 8: Designing election department websites
Week 9: Election guides and voter education
Week 10: Creating forms and legal notices
Week 11: Designing ballots and polling places
Week 12: Communicating with voters
Weeks 13-15: Course project: revise, test, revise
Week 16: Course wrap up

Here’s the fine print

• The official name is PA 3975/5975 – Election Design. You can take it as an undergrad or grad course.
• Anyone can take the course – you don’t have to be admitted to the program
• The course starts the Tuesday after the MLK Day holiday in mid-January and ends in mid-May.
• You’ll average 6 hours a week of course work, including interacting with the instructors and other students
• You’ll earn 2 credits
• Information about enrolling in the program and registration for just this course is on the program page or contact Lea Chittenden for all the details.

We hope you can tell we’re excited about this course. We’d love to see you in it.

Keep up the good work.

This was originally published in our Civic Designing newsletter. Subscribe on Mailchimp to get election design tips delivered to your mailbox.