A new step-by-step technical guide to building accessible forms in InDesign

September 27, 2025

Our new technical guide walks you through the process of building accessible PDF forms

How journalism can help people register to vote

September 14, 2018

September 25 is National Voter Registration Day. One of the major obstacles to voters voting is that they’re not registered....

Design, test, repeat: designing a new ballot record form

August 29, 2018

Creating a new form - with iteration and testing - that helps poll workers account for ballots accurately.

You see a provisional ballot, voters see their ballot

July 20, 2018

A key feature of the Help America Vote Act allows more possibly eligible people to vote.

How to make videos accessible to people with disabilities

July 16, 2018

How do you make sure that videos are accessible to people with disabilities?

Why not just use pens to mark a ballot?

May 13, 2018

Making voting universal, accurate, and secure with better ballot designs.

Catalyzing change across the voter experience: Center for Civic Design 2017

March 14, 2018

We're working to make elections easier and more engaging -- for voters and election officials.

Asking the right question at the right time

October 27, 2017

Help people answer questions on forms correctly

How can we make requirements clear?

September 22, 2017

We look behind the scenes in The Case of Must v. Shall

Civic designing: tools and templates

September 15, 2017

Free (or super cheap) tools and resources for every part of election administration, from voter information to how you make decisions about voting systems.

Poll workers and empowerment

September 14, 2017

How do you get poll workers with a range of attitudes to deliver a safe, secure, free, and open election for you? Train them. Test them. Trust them.

Modernizing voting system guidelines and testing

September 13, 2017

Updated voting system standards take a big step forward.

Strategies for recruiting poll workers

September 12, 2017

Tips from recent conversations with election officials from California to Colorado to Indiana to Virginia

Partnering is powerful

September 10, 2017

We formed the Center for Civic Design 4 years ago this week. To all the town, county, state, and federal election officials we've already worked with, thank you!

Meeting voters’ language needs

August 16, 2017

We're learning about supporting voters with low English proficiency. Some of the lessons we've learned so far from research about voter guides.

Answering voters’ questions: what’s on the ballot, and the mechanics of voting

August 7, 2017

An interactive practice ballot is a secret weapon. When people get the chance to see what the ballot looks like, check out what contests and questions are on it, and they get to actually practice marking the ballot, they’re more committed to voting.

A year-and-a-half in review: Center for Civic Design 2016-2017

July 11, 2017

This has been a big year and a half. We’re growing, with new team members and new projects.

A month of presentations

June 30, 2017

A month of sharing what we've learned about civic design with election officials and UX designers

A person is outlined in shadow against a slide showing two ballots

The epic journey of American voters

March 22, 2017

The voter journey can be a happy path or a burdened one. Let's make voting more rational.

Participating in Participatory Budgeting

February 28, 2017

Learning about designing for the engaged citizens who vote in participatory budgeting

Sign for participatory budgeting taped to a fence in Manhattan

That belongs in a museum

February 1, 2017

We're so proud that the Field Guides are in the Smithsonian Design Museum. The exhibit is open through February.