Work
A vote for usability
Redesigning the local election voting documents
YouXD has recently completed work with the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) to improve voter response at this year’s local authority elections.
A great deal of research has been gathered after each local election about voter behaviour. Of all the data, it’s the poll itself that points to the problem – steadily declining returns over each election.
A significant proportion (7.7% in 2007) of non-voting is due to incomplete or ‘informal’ votes that can not be counted. Overcoming this would represent be a considerable improvement. With over 3 million eligible voters, an improvement of 1% would be significant.
Improving the postal voting document will improve voter turn out
Although the postal voting document is only one variable in engaging voters, it is arguably the most significant touch-point of the election experience, the other touch-points being advertising, media coverage and voting day. Our view was that changing the voting document was the best opportunity to improve voter turnout.
The design also had to conform to the automated Votext formatting and printing system used by the majority of local authorities, and comply with a range of vote-scanning technologies used by the individual local authorities.
Stakeholder workshops and our own analysis of existing research highlighted two opportunities to improve voting outcomes through the voting document.
1. Displaying information in a user-friendly way
The first and most obvious opportunity for improving voting outcomes was to make sure the information was displayed in a user-friendly way. We used plain English and clear graphic prompts (colour and iconography) to improve the clarity of the information and better differentiate specific types of information, such as guide notes from the areas users make their vote, First Past the Post (FPP) ballots from Single Transferable Vote (STV) ballots and Council elections from District Health Board elections.
2. Using a stronger call to action on the voting material
The second opportunity for improving voting outcomes was to use the voting document to encourage and keep voting top of mind by placing a stronger call to action on all the voting materials and using the ‘General Election orange’ that most people associate with voting.
User testing showed a positive response to the new voting document
User testing of the design concept was completed in September with very positive response and little change. The key driver for this was the feeling that the voting document was clear and straightforward – in terms of layout, instructions and how easy it was to complete correctly. When comparing the old voting document with the new, the difference couldn’t have been more black and white: on a scale of 0 to 10, the old voting document rated a 0 to 2. In contrast, the proposed template rated an 8 to 10. The comments from user testing focused on the old document’s lack of visual appeal and cluttered nature.
The YouXD team now eagerly awaits the results of the ultimate user test – the 2010 elections.
Information design is a key part of the YouXD experience design offer. Contact David Boyd to find out more about our specialist expertise.