Using your website to fight misinformation

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. 

Fighting misinformation

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.

Answer voters’ questions

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? 

  • What’s on the ballot?
  • Who are my representatives now?
  • Can I register to vote on Election Day? What’s the deadline to register?
  • How do I vote if I can’t vote on Election Day?
  • Where do I go to vote?
  • What were the results of the election? Who won?
  • When is my absentee ballot due?
  • What is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot?
  • What do I have to do to get an absentee ballot?
  • Do I have to update my registration? I’ve moved.
  • How do I actually vote?
  • What happens if I don’t have an ID? What ID can I use to vote?

Make sure your site is recognizable as a government website

There are a few tiny things that will help visitors to your site know that it is a government website. 

  • Make it look official. You can have a friendly-looking, approachable website and still make it look official. One of the key signals for users is whether there is an official seal. Including it in the banner for your website is an easy and obvious visual connection to your office. 
     
  • Get a .gov. Many local election websites have .com, .org, or other URLs. You really need a .gov domain. Your county or your state IT folks may have standards for domain names. Check with them. But get a .gov to help people know that you are government and not an advocacy group or an unreliable source. 
     
  • Include contact information for a responsible person that includes an email address and phone number. Visitors to your site will feel better if there’s someone they can contact, even if they never do it. (And if your site does a good job of answering their questions, they are less likely to email or phone you.)  

Demystify how elections work through your content

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: 

  • Through social media, give quick updates about what you and your team are doing today — just the top priority things will be enough. 
  • Make it easy for voters to find specific information: Link local jurisdiction websites to state election websites and from state election websites to local websites 
  • For state websites, make it clear what content is directed to voters. Using words like “voter information” in headings or links is surprisingly helpful. 

Remind people that there are websites for local election offices 

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!)

Make sure people with disabilities can use your website 

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:

  • Ensure that colors and contrast meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0)
  • Implement responsive design for different sized screens.
  • Avoid long drop-down menus and “mega” menus.
  • Include ALT (descriptive) text for images and graphics.
  • Avoid movement and animations that are not under the users’ control.
  • Group links to answer voters’ questions, so users can see what each chunk of information or links is about.

Resources

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