Making ballot envelopes clear and understandable
As part of the process of voting by mail, voters sign a legal statement that often has complicated language and a confusing layout. These forms often lead voters to mistakenly leave out crucial information like their signature.
We reviewed the information and signature forms on mail-in ballot envelopes from 26 states and identified strategies that election administrators can follow to make their ballot envelopes more accessible to voters.
Making ballot envelopes clear and understandable: The impact of plain language on voter signature forms
Key findings
Here are a few of our key findings on what improves vote-by-mail signature forms from our research:
Layout can make text easier to read and understand
Simple updates like turning a block of text into bullet points and calling attention to the signature area can make the information easier to follow
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| I swear or affirm that I am qualified to vote in the election or elections in County, Oklahoma, to be held on, for which ballots are enclosed; I have marked the ballots myself; and I have not shown these marked ballots to any other person. | I swear or affirm that
|
| Readability: Post-graduate | Readability: Early primary |
When state election code allows, eligibility requirements can be shortened to one phrase
In our analysis, we found a wide range in how states presented eligibility requirements to voters. Colorado, with a simple declaration, and North Carolina, which asks voters to agree to a long list of individual requirements, represent two extremes:
| Purpose | Excerpts from oath |
|---|---|
| A single blanket statement that they are qualified to vote (Colorado) |
“I am an eligible elector” |
| A complete list of requirements for voter registration (North Carolina) |
|
Since those who are voting by mail have already agreed to all of these requirements when they registered to vote, consolidating this complete list into one blanket statement simply acknowledges that voters have already legally signed off on these requirements.
About the research
This research was conducted by Sean Isamu Johnson and Whitney Quesenbery.
We reviewed the information and signature forms on mail-in ballot envelopes from 26 states and conducted a readability and content analysis to understand whether the voter statement—including all the text of the legal statement—is easy enough for voters to read that they are more likely to successfully complete and return their ballot.
The research report also includes a complete step-by-step guide on how to improve a state’s form, as well as a more detailed dive into other strategies that can be deployed to improve readability and simplify content in vote-by-mail envelope design.
Related resources
Read our shorter article that covers the highlights from research, 3 strategies to improve vote-by-mail signature forms
For more resources on mail envelopes, visit our page on voting by mail.