Concept: National Standardized Framework
Pre-Election Information
Your registration, locations of polling places, sample ballots and information in a consistent format, no matter where you vote.
Download the concept poster as a PDF file
About this concept
The text that follows describes the concept presentation poster.
Goals
- Have an automatic, first time use feedback mechanism for future improvement.
- Leverage data to find the ideal voting environment, best practices, and a general universal design for voting information.
- Increase predictability.
- Lower effort for both voters and officials.
- High-tech and low-tech solutions.
- Have a unified core content source.
Scope
- Sample ballots
- Polling locations and available remote alternatives
- Information for disability / language identification
- Easy access to answers for: where am I registered, where do I register, and how do I register?
- Aimed at voters, officials, vendors, interest groups, and campaigns
- Multi-channel: web, phone, app, mail, and physical print options
Execution
- Information as a product (portal)
- Increase remote options for all
- Be wary of multi-channel fragmentation
- Use plain language
- Implementation starts with a national foundation, is implemented at the state and county levels, and is promoted at the voter and campaign level.
What’s wrong with the status quo?
- Complexity
- Fragmentation
- Timing of information
- Displaying info without being partisan
- Physical accessibility
- Voting location information
Initial ideas and thoughts
- Vote by phone
- Proactive or automatic voter reigstration
- Simplified location scouting
- Pre-info digital templates
- National standards
- More voting customizability
- More or less copyright
- Community-driven information database
- Central website portal
- Better feedback and data on usability
- Campaign ads with auto-captioning
- More remote options
- Other days in the week to vote
- Display information in polling places
- Audio guides similar to museums
- Dual low and high tech is a must
- Must consider multiple outputs
This concept was created at the Accessible Elections Design Workshop in January, 2012