Local Elections Website
Added important new features to a Local County Clerk webpage to increase access to ballot information, set up voting reminders, and show available transportation to the polls
Background
Point of View
Turnout among registered voters in Travis County, Texas, of which I am a resident, was fewer than 17% in the most recent local election. There are many reasons cited for this, such as loss of pay for taking time off to vote, inaccessibility of polling places, and a general lack of engagement with local politics.
How Might We
Help voters stay more engaged and more informed about local elections in my city?
Discover patterns and principal reasons why voters are so disengaged in local elections?
Uncover actionable insights about different voters’ unique situations and reasons for voting/not voting?
Identify valuable resources and features which can be integrated into voters’ busy lives that increase engagement and excitement about voting?
Research & Analysis
The Travis County Elections website is a valuable resource for information about upcoming elections. While the site includes many vital details and is generally navigable, it does little to engage and motivate the local electorate.
The homescreen has a variety of options including current election information, sample ballots, and a way to look up if you are registered. However, it could be doing more to “Get Out the Vote.”
The “Resources” page has some good options and links but is extremely limited. Furthermore, some of the most important resources, such as how to get to the polls, are not featured at all.
Finally, the “Current Elections” page does have some useful information such as a map with various wait times and sample ballots, but it is also very limited in its options and could provide much more information to a potential voter.
User Interviews
“Being not from this country, I didn’t understand how it worked for a long time.”
“(I’m more) engaged when it’s a higher profile (election)...and when it directly affects me”
“I try to vote in every election because it is a valuable and important right that we shouldn’t take for granted. ”
I not only wanted to discover why so few citizens voted, but also why they were so disengaged. After all, the general consensus is that local elections affect one’s day to day life much more than those at the national level. To find out why (and also to find out what resources people were using), I conducted interviews with 4 participants and compiled everything into an affinity map.
The categories were: Rating, Why Are Local Elections Important, Where Are You Finding Polling Info, Getting To The Polls, Why Did You Vote, Why Did You Not Vote, Polling Place, Incentivized System, Engagement, and Where Are You Finding Ballot Info
Insights:
Everyone agreed that voting in local elections was very important, but only half of my participants voted
They cited myriad reasons why not (or why they didn’t in previous elections), and the main reasons were time, lack of awareness, and not making voting a high priority
Multiple participants also cited a general lack of community engagement/marketing of the election which, had there been more, might have kept it on their radar
User Personas
With the information from the interviews, I was able to create two unique User Personas which addressed the most common issues I discovered.
Christopher is a very busy dad with a full time job. He understands the value of voting, but has trouble prioritizing it in his hectic schedule.
Jennifer is extremely politically engaged and community focused. She wants more resources to help others in her community see the value and necessity of voting in local elections.
Task Flows
With the Interviews, Secondary Research, and User Personas in mind, I was able to create three task flows which addressed some main pain points preventing potential voters from heading to the polls. They were: Election Reminders, Ballot Breakdown, and Find A Ride.
Legend
Election Reminders
Set up text or email reminders notifying you of the date of the next election. Users have the option of Daily, Monthly, or Day of reminders.
A centralized resource for information about props, amendments, and candidates in upcoming elections from multiple reliable sources.
Ballot Breakdown
Find a Ride
A centralized resource of free and/or discounted options for finding a ride to the polls.
Wireframes
Mid Fi
My Mid Fidelity Wireframes visualized the three new features while also staying within the process parameters of the Travis County Elections website.
I first added a prominent CTA directing users to the resources page. From there, users can easily find the election reminders button which leads them to the election reminders sign-up form.
Election Reminders
From the Resources page, the user clicks on the Ballot Breakdown button. From there they are directed to vetted sources which each explain the often cryptic language of election ballots.
Ballot Breakdown
From the homepage, users click on the “Election Information” dropdown and select “Current Election.” They can then select the “Find A Ride” subheading which will show them multiple options, including public transportation and rideshares, for getting to the polls.
Find A Ride
For the Hi Fi frames, I added my three new features while still utilizing all of the Travis County Elections website’s existing colors, typography and other UI.
Hi Fi
Election Reminders
Ballot Breakdown
Find A Ride
Usability Testing
With the final designs complete, I was able to test the new features with potential users. The tests revealed organizational inconsistencies and differing user expectations which I have shown below.
Election Reminders
Task:
Imagine you are a voter who wants to set up election reminders
Expected:
Users will be able to complete the task in a reasonable amount of time and found the experience “simple” and “easy”
Unexpected:
Users took longer than expected to find “Reminders”
Some didn’t expect it under Resources
Implications/Recommendations:
Need to add Resources dropdown like on original page
Possibly move this feature to “Current Election”
Ballot Breakdown
Task:
Imagine you are searching for resources that break down what’s on the ballot
Expected:
Users will find Ballot Breakdown quickly and intuitively click through the flow
Unexpected:
Universally testers were expecting it under “Current Election”
Implications/Recommendations:
Place under “Current Election” instead
Find a Ride
Task:
Imagine you are searching for resources about finding a ride to the polls
Expected:
Users will find Find A Ride eventually and intuitively click through the flow
Unexpected:
Almost all expecting it to be under “Resources”
Multiple users cited that where it was was not “intuitive”
Implications/Recommendations:
Move to Resources
Priority Revisions
The overwhelming majority of users appreciated the new features and understood their value, but expected them to be in different places on the homepage. Based on that feedback, I decided to move the new features, which I have detailed below.
Moved “Election Reminders'“ from “Resources” to “Current Election”
Moved “Ballot Breakdown'“ from “Resources” to “Current Election”
Moved “Find A Ride“ from “Current Election” to “Resources”
Completion rate was 100%
All testers said they would use the new features
While testers expected the features to be in different locations, they found them simple and easy to navigate
Main Takeaways
The new features enhance the government website by adding elements which increase engagement and serve the community at large. While these three features are just an initial step, many more features could be added to this site to help inform and motivate the local electorate. For there is perhaps nothing more important we will ever do as citizens than expressing our support or disapproval by voting.
Thank you for reading!
PAER
CRAIGSLIST RESPONSIVE
