Design For Democracy: Share Your Voting Experience on November 4
The Florida 'hanging chad' ballot fracas in the 2000 presidential election energized a group of graphic designers to offer their talents to the nation. Their public service has led to several ballot redesign initiatives, in addition to the refashioning of public instructions and guidelines to make it easier for voters to get through their polling places without incident.
Prominent among these innovative designers are two graphic artists from Chicago: Gretchen Schulfer and Cheyenne Medina. We went to see them when they came to Ann Arbor in mid-October and spoke at the Michigan theatre about their work in changing ballots and poll worker information for the state of Oregon and Cook County, Illinois as well as for the U.S. Election Commission.
Now they are asking a2ethics.org to help them get a better idea of how to change our voting experiences and polling places to ensure that peoples' votes are accurately recorded and counted, and that the places where people vote are are easily accessible and are fairly and efficiently operated by election officials.
After you vote today, please take just a few minutes to go to Gretchen and Cheyenne's new website:
They have 7 short questions for your to answer:
1. Was it easy or difficult to find your polling place?
2. When you got to your polling place, did you know where to start?
3. Were the lines long or short?
4. Which voting system did you use (paper ballot or electronic)?
5. Were the instructions on how to fill in the ballot clear?
6. Did you know how to cast your ballot or did you need to ask for assistance?
7. Were the pollworkers friendly and informed?
And if you do have to stand in line to vote, you might be interested in listening to some of our podcasts: www.a2ethics.org/audio.
Thanks very much for taking the time to help Gretchen and Cheyenne! We hope to invite them back to Ann Arbor in 2009 to tell us what they have learned from today's election.
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The Ballot
The Coffee Creamery, a local business set up a booth outside my polling place, and that was really nice. They were very friendly, and it really made the whole thing more fun.
The ballot I filled out this morning was white, and really large, though the print was small. I am sure that if I'm having trouble reading it, then most of the country must be also. I had to squint. I am sure that by adding color, even one or two more colors, it would be clearer and easier to use.
Some of the candidates for local posts, I must admit, I don't know anything about them. Biographical info or a few bullet points on the ballot could be helpful. I don't trust voting on a touchscreen. But an informational touchscreen in the booth might be helpful; then when you have a question you can look up the candidate. Maybe they can use the touchscreen voting machines that they would otherwise be throwing away. Reuse and recycle!
Location is a factor too. The more voting locations in bus terminals, coffee shops, malls, and etc. the better. Bring the vote to the people, not just the people to the vote.
Other Voting Experiences to Share
Bringing the vote to the people is a great idea. While I think offering multiple ways and options for voting is the most democratic, I also think that voting should be a party or a festival, and a community celebration. Absentee voting continues the isolation of the voting experience in some ways. We know that the act is private, but it can be done in a communal surrounding. Yesterday, when I voted, I greeted neighbors, and caught up with some friends I haven't seen for awhile. And I felt as a result, that I was part of a larger enterprise, beyond my own views and concerns.
In Michigan, the kids are off from school (thanks to the United Auto Workers, the group that helped changed the law to make election day a state holiday), so I think it would be amazing if local theatres, movie complexes, museums and recreation centers opened their doors for free on election day. In addition, if parents and others have to work, then I think businesses should allow time off with pay for people to vote, even if it does take four or five hours.
My voting experience was satisfactory. I only had to wait for one half hour. There was one major problem however. It looked as if the Automark machine for voters who have special needs was not available for the first three hours after my polling place opened. I know that in my neighborhood there are a few people who would need to use this machine. I voted at 10:30AM. They were just hauling the Automark in when I arrived.
This oversight makes the VideoTheVote project even more attractive as a way to record how we can improve and ensure a fair voting experience for everyone who wants to vote at polling places across the nation. Too often, people with disabilities have been channeled into doing their voting as absentees. If we don't have on hand voting machines that allow people with disabilities to vote, then our vision or dream of a communal celebration or festival fades.
The VideotheVote project (www.videothevote.org) is yet another way (like www.thevotingexperience.com) we can offer up our personal voting experiences with an eye toward redesigning our democracy so that it is seen by everyone as fundamentally fair.