THE CHALLENGE
Simplifying Necessity
Team Toast was tasked to address the needs of constituents in NJ in need of a more efficient and accessible way to exercise their right to vote remotely: chiefly prioritizing constituents who were disabled or military personnel deployed overseas.
WINDOWSHOPPING
Our goal for this project was to identify and address the needs of voters who'd used alternative methods to vote in the past. A comparative task analysis between remote-voting options currently available in NJ and DemocracyLive for West Virginia (one of the first states to implement mobile-voting as an option for constituents through the VOATZ app), revealed that available remote-voting services still required voters to complete various steps of the process in person: registration documents had to be picked up in person at the county clerk's office, ballots had to be mailed via the post office, etc. This limited accessibility to those who were not affected by issues regarding mobility, location, and availability of printing facilities. Additionally, both services lacked user feedback indicating receipt and processing of voter registration applications & ballots submitted.
INSIGHTS
Key Findings
User interviews further bolstered our findings from our comparative task analysis. Many voters who'd utilized alternative voting methods were frustrated that options purported to be remote-accessible required several steps of the process to be completed in-person. 71%-85% of users surveyed were comfortable with the idea of voting remotely, expressed great interest in alternative options for remote-voting, and prioritized digital security.
THE PROTOTYPE
Our key findings led us to prioritizing Security, Accessibility, and Simplicity
SECURITY
We addressed users concerns regarding security by incorporating explanations of security features and identity verification directly in to the onboarding process. Previewing elections and voting features were structured to only become available once users had verified a form of government issued ID. Additionally, we introduced an "Auto-Wipe" feature for all verification materials wherein all user data would be wiped from the app once ballots had been submitted unless the user chose to opt out.
ACCESSIBILITY
Interviewees were quick to point out their frustrations regarding paper ballots often being unclear and difficult to read. Be it due to legibility issues (re: font size, spacing, etc) or poorly presented candidate information. We addressed these issues by making sure the "voting" screens of the app were populated with large, tagged photos of participating candidates the user would tap to vote for. Prior to submitting their ballots, users are given 2 opportunities to review and revise their choices for an added measure of user confidence and feedback.
SIMPLICITY
UI Elements were designed to prioritize a clean and simple design aesthetic. Animations were kept to a minimum, loading/onboarding screens were built to prioritize straightforward communication of app features and tool tips. Icons were generated on a slightly larger scale than traditionally used, and all imagery was tagged with labels to address the possible implementation of screen-reader capabilities.
DELIVERY
The Final Pass
Usability tests were met with high levels of user satisfaction but called attention to some minor interactions regarding user security, confidence, and feedback. To accommodate these findings, verification screens were minimized to a much more direct path from "confirmation" to completion, additional confirmation pages were added to the ballot submission process, and additional graphic, colors, and fonts were chosen in keeping with 508 compliant regulations.
TESTING
Usability tests for the High fidelity prototype were met with high levels of satisfaction.
NEXT STEPS
Usability tests for the High fidelity prototype were met with high levels of satisfaction, but also opened up the discussion for next steps & further exploration.
ADAPTING TO ACCOMODATE ADDITIONAL ELECTION EVENTS:
- Town Halls, Straw Polls, Caucuses, University Events, etc
USER FEEDBACK AFTER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED:
- In-app, Text, or email notifications on ballot progress: “Ballot Submitted! Ballot Received, Processing, etc)
EXPANDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:
- Users expressed wanting to share on multiple/alternate social media platforms:
-Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc
EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE ID VERIFICATION METHODS:
- Verifying ID through confirming docs already registered w/ the govt found through automated background checks, etc.
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO PROVIDING IN-APP CANDIDATE INFO
- Providing information on stances held by candidates on relevant issues was a ”Magic Wand” feature many users mentioned, but the team encountered several legal obstacles regarding electioneering. Recruiting a legal team specializing in these areas to research ways in which to implement this feature would be paramount.