We asked a teacher aide to participate in a study we were conducting on state election websites. This person happened to be a part-time election clerk. “I know where to find all the information about elections,” they declared. We began, and asked them to navigate to the state’s election site on their browser.
After 5 or so minutes of not being able to find answers to questions, lots of tabs opened and random PDFs downloaded, it was clear the task wasn’t as easy as it first seemed.
When your website is not easily usable, people may assume that you are trying to hide information from them. Or that you don’t care about voters. Through our research, we’ve developed some quick things you can do to make your website the source of trustworthy, accurate, and useful information about voting and elections.
If voters can’t find the answers to their questions on your official website, they’re more likely to go to third-party sites, undervote on down-ballot races, or not even show up.
Voters don’t have the same questions leading up to an election that they call your office with. When we asked people what their top questions were, we heard that they are ballot centric — weighing what’s on the ballot against their personal priorities and beliefs — and that they’re looking for last-minute options for taking part. So, your website and other voter information need to address those topics. Does your site answer these questions?
There are a few tiny things that will help visitors to your site know that it is a government website.
When people feel that you’re being open and transparent with information about your processes, they trust you more. Here are some ways to help with that:
You really can’t say this often enough or in too many channels: Go to our website at www.election_office.st.gov. Our studies show that it is rare for people to visit local government websites unless they’re applying for a specific benefit.
Tell everyone, all the time. Include the URL on all printed materials. Contact local media and ask them to promote it. Think about buying or placing ads in local papers and on news websites to promote your website as the best source of information about voting and elections. (And make sure that it is!)
Our studies always include people with disabilities. One recent participant stands out. They had a traumatic brain injury, and for them, that means that strong visuals and movement can be overwhelming. The color red, which appeared boldly on their state’s election website, was alarming. Scrolling text and a carousel of images and announcements, while intended to be helpful, was distracting and made it hard to focus. Long drop-down menus and large blocks of text without headings made their experience particularly frustrating. The participant shared that if they hadn’t been participating in our study they would have given up long before they did.
Good design that meets the needs of people with disabilities isn’t just good for them. It’s good design for everyone. Key elements to check for are:
This was originally published in our Civic Designing newsletter. Subscribe on Mailchimp to get election design tips delivered to your mailbox.