Voting systems

www.civicdesign.org/topics/roadmap/

Voting systems

Every voter deserves to cast their ballot independently and privately. Voting systems — the technology voters use to mark, verify, and submit their ballots — are a core part of that experience. Whether someone is using a paper ballot, a ballot marking device, or vote by mail, good design reduces errors and makes participation easier. That’s work we’ve been part of for a long time.

Our involvement in voting system usability goes back to before Center for Civic Design was founded. In 2002, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) required every in-person voting location to offer a system with features like audio reading and tactile controls for voters with disabilities. It also directed the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to establish usability guidelines through the new Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). Whitney Quesenbery served on the advisory committee developing the human factors and privacy sections of those guidelines.

Starting in 2015, we conducted research for the NIST Voting Project as the VVSG 2.0 was developed. We’ve also explored innovative approaches to building voter confidence — from end-to-end verifiable systems like ElectionGuard to research on how voters review their ballots and how poll workers can support voters who need help.

Tools

Poll worker training assisting voters with disabilities

Access tool

Handbook for VVSG 2.0 Usability and Accessibility Test Strategies

Access tool

Voting system subtopics

How voters review and verify their ballots

These research projects looked at issues in how (and how easily) voters can review their ballot and cast a ballot marked as they intend. 

  • Literature review: Voter review and verification of ballots. This review of the literature and research approaches looked at recent studies of ballot marking devices and whether they provide voters with a meaningful opportunity to verify their ballot before casting it. A final section looks at what is known about how to conduct this research. (Published as NIST GCR 24-052)
  • Research report: How voters review & verify ballots from ballot marking devices. A report of qualitative research to gain deeper insights into how voters mark, review, verify, and cast their ballots. It looked at the role the design of the voting interaction and overall voting process plays in encouraging voters to carefully check their ballot before casting it.
    (Published as NIST GCR 24-051)
  • Research report: Legibility of summary style printed ballots: What makes a printed summary-style ballot easy to verify? An exploration of design characteristics of summary ballots and whether they are readable visually and with optical scan recognition (OCR) tools for accessibility. (Published as NIST VTS 100-4)

Voting systems in polling places

Accessible voting by mail

VVSG voting system guidelines

Working with colleagues on the Human Factors and Privacy Public Working Group, we wrote a series of white papers reviewing issues identified in a gap analysis of the current voting system standards and collected research to support new or changed requirements.

Webinars on the VVSG 2.0 draft requirements: Improving the Accessibility and Usability of Voting Systems

We also wrote guidance for designing, developing, and testing voting systems to the VVSG:

Our work

Secure and accessible voting systems and ElectionGuard

For several years, we have partnered with the ElectionGuard team to help make end-to-end verifiable voting a reality in elections. ElectionGuard is open-source software that creates an encrypted record of every vote, allowing voters to confirm their ballot was counted and making it possible to audit election results without revealing how anyone voted. Our work has focused on the human side of this technology — researching how voters encounter and understand it, developing communications materials to introduce it clearly, and learning what it takes to build trust in a new kind of election security. From pilot elections in Idaho to the City of College Park, Maryland, we have been on the ground studying what works, what voters notice, and what still needs to improve.

The Anywhere Ballot

What if you could vote on any device — one you already own, know, and have set up just the way you like? The Anywhere Ballot is an accessible, responsive ballot design to make voting easier for everyone, especially people with disabilities or low literacy. Built on open web standards, the project has inspired real voting systems used across the country.

Exploring new election technology

As election technology evolves, so does our understanding of what it takes to make it work well for voters and election officials alike. From remote ballot marking to electronic poll books, new tools bring new design challenges — and new opportunities to make elections more accessible, secure, and easy to use. This work examines emerging technologies in the field, developing principles and practical guidance to help jurisdictions evaluate and adopt systems that meet the needs of all voters.

The usability of electronic poll books. Landscape analysis, checklist for usability and accessibility and a usability test plan for election officials, state certification programs, and system designers.

CCD Articles

These short articles explore key questions and perspectives on election technology design, from the basics of ballot marking to the broader challenge of building voter confidence.

Research from others in the field

Research on Accessibility and Human Factors – from the NIST Voting Project

Accessible Voting Technology Initiative

The Accessible Voting Technology Initiative (AVTI) conducted research to assess the current state of accessibility in elections, identify where technology has not lived up to its potential, and explore innovative solutions to meet voters’ needs.

CCD hosts the archive of this project

Original work on the Anywhere Ballot, also EZ Ballot, and the Smart Voting Joystick.

Accessible Voting Technology Initiative