State of California: Mobile Voting
Project Overview
The Challenge
Overseas citizens are thirteen times less likely to vote in United States elections than stateside citizens.
The Opportunity
A majority of U.S. citizens agreed that convenience is a key factor in determining whether or not they would exercise their right to vote.
The Solution
A trusted & approachable online platform which reduces ambiguity around the voting process, increases the total number of voted ballots submitted, and establishes trust in the remote voting experience.
The Outcome
Engage in civic responsibility and build a healthier, more inclusive democracy.
Tools
Figma
Miro
Marvel
Adobe XD
Roles
Project Manager
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Report Writer
Duration
Two Weeks
October 2020
The Challenge
Overseas citizens are thirteen times less likely to vote in United States elections than stateside citizens.
Making the Vote Count
The COVID-19 global pandemic has made it more difficult for some populations to vote, accelerating the exploration of mobile voting by many states.
In this case study, the State of California considers a pilot online voting platform for overseas voters. The implementation of this platform will allow a small subset of voters to receive, vote and submit their ballots electronically.
It is believed that citizens are generally concerned about the security of this technology. As such, security and trust factors were highly considered in the design of this platform.
Why it Matters
After the 2018 United States midterm elections, the Federal Voting Assistance Program released a report that analyzed the Overseas Citizens Voting Age Population (OCVAP).
During the 2018 midterm election year, approximately 2.9M citizens were 18 years of age or older and therefore eligible to vote in the U.S. federal elections. However, an estimated total of 136K ballots were submitted by such citizens, equating to a vote rate of 4.7%.
Let's try to visualize that, shall we?
Better yet, let's compare the overseas citizens vote rate to the domestic citizens vote rate from the same 2018 midterm election year.
Overseas: Percentage of OCVAP that submitted a ballot and had a vote recorded in state vote history records.
This includes factors that affect one's ability to transmit and receive election related materials in a timely manner.
This includes factors related to motivational differences, election importance, or lack of connection to U.S. politics.
Gap
To better define areas for opportunity where the voting gap may be reduced, our team took a deeper dive into the main drivers that are influencing both the obstacle gap and the residual gap, as researched and defined by the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
The Opportunity
A majority of voting citizens agreed that convenience is a key factor in determining whether or not they would exercise their right to vote.
Current Voting Methods
In order to gain a better understanding of the common pain points felt by overseas voters from the State of California, we prepared a competitive task analysis of the state's available voting methods.
By deconstructing each voting method on a step-by-step basis, our team was able to determine what voters were trying to accomplish, diagnose potential pain points, and identify areas of opportunities to create a more effective and efficient voting process.
Performing A security check
Due to the sensitivity of the remote voting process and the strong desire for a confidential vote, our team conducted a competitive feature analysis to visualize how other trusted online platforms authenticate and secure their users' personal information.
In this analysis, we compared the State of West Virginia's online mobile banking platform, Voatz, to an online identity verification platform for government and business sectors, ID.me, and Bank of America's online banking platform.
Features analyzed included information collected during account set-up, user verification protocols, and any additional authentication measures noted throughout the process.
user research
Following our initial voter research, we sought to gain insights from actual voting experiences. Given the limited time constraints of the study, we interviewed four individuals who met the following criteria.
We broke our interview discussion guides into two parts; the first focused on security & trust concerns, and the second centered around previous voting experiences.
Key insights
The Solution
A trusted & approachable online platform which reduces ambiguity around the voting process, increases the total number of voted ballots submitted, and establishes trust in the remote voting experience.
Step 1: Register to vote
Our paper and lo-fi prototype usability tests indicated that the design of our voter registration process was confusing and repetitive. Further, users expected higher security measures when registering through our platform.
In short, the registration process we designed was not meeting our goal of providing an efficient, trustworthy, and streamlined voting platform for our overseas voters.
So, rather than building out a separate registration process within our voting platform, our team determined it to be more cost and time efficient to use the current available registration resources provided by the State of California and the United States federal government. Upon registering, overseas voters will now be provided with a unique 6-digit voter registration PIN number.
Our final prototype included several different user paths within the registration process, which are further explained below.
What if I haven't registered to vote?
For your convenience, voter registration resources are linked on our website.
The State of California's overseas voters can apply for voter registration by completing either (a) an online voter registration application with your designated county elections officials' office, or (b) the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) on the Federal Voting Assistance Program's website.
What all is required to confirm my voter registration?
Your voter registration can be confirmed on our site by providing your last name, your date of birth, and your unique 6-digit voter registration PIN number.
How do i find my voter registration pin number?
Upon registering to vote through one of the two available resources, you will be provided with a unique 6-digit voter registration PIN number via email.
What if I can't remember if I registered to vote?
If you either (a) cannot remember whether or not you have registered to vote, or (b) cannot locate your voter registration PIN number, you can use the voter registration search available on our website.
You will need to provide your last name, date of birth, and one of the following: (i) driver's license number, (ii) passport number, or (iii) the last four digits of your social security number.
If you have previously registered to vote, you will be able to resend your registration pin number to the email address you provided upon initial registration.
If you have not previously registered to vote, you will be redirected to a screen that provides you with available registration resources.
Step 2: Cast your vote
For this reason, instead of modernizing the appearance of the ballot to better conform to current day user interface patterns, our team concluded that presenting the election ballot in its traditional appearance would create a more intuitive, user-friendly experience for potential users.
How much time do I have to complete my ballot?
You will have approximately 45 minutes to complete and submit your voted ballot.
Once you have begun the voting process, a timer will appear at the top of your screen. If you do not wish to see the timer throughout the process, there is an option to hide the timer from your view.
Can I research candidates while I am completing my ballot?
Yes. The State of California does not have any rules barring an individual from bringing their phone into a polling station. Therefore, you have the ability to research candidates when completing your ballot.
However, we do not recommend looking up candidates after starting the voting process due to the 45-minute time constraint.
Based on your feedback, we have provided an example ballot that can be previewed before the voting process commences. You can research candidates using this preview ballot.
What if I made a mistake on my ballot? Can I go back and change my candidate selection?
Yes. After you have cast your votes, you will be directed to a ballot review screen. If you wish to change any of the selections made on your ballot, you can do so at this step in the process.
However, once you confirm that you have reviewed your voted ballot, no additional changes can be made to ballot selections.
Step 3: Submit & track
Our voter research showed that many individuals had mixed feelings about voting through an online platform, stemming mainly from security concerns related to facial recognition identification methods. However, research also revealed that voters felt that having a two-factor authentication for online sites provided an additional layer of security.
Therefore, in addition to the security measures taken when confirming a user's voter registration status, our site requires a electronic signature from the user in order to submit their final, reviewed ballot. This final step in the submission process further emphasizes the importance of a confidential vote to the user.
Will my vote remain confidential through this platform?
Yes. Once you have fully reviewed your voted ballot, you will be prompted to provide your electronic signature. By providing your signature and submitting through this platform, your vote will legally remain confidential.
How will I know when my ballot has been counted?
You will have the option to track your voted ballot by providing either your email address or your phone number. Once your vote has been counted, you will receive either an email or text update letting you know your vote has successfully been counted in the United States elections.
Will I receive an "I voted" sticker?
Unfortunately, we will not be mailing individual "I voted" stickers.
However, once your ballot has been submitted, you will have the option to share our electronic version of the sticker on any social media platform of your choosing.
We encourage you to share your electronic sticker and inspire others to get out to the polls!
nonpartisan styling
Developing the style guide and UI patterns for this online platform required our team to identify the mindful, unbiased intersection between color psychology and political symbolism. Rather than eliminating the popular political color dichotomy seen in United States politics today, our team focused on how the psychologies associated with the politically polarizing reds and blues could guide the user through the online voting process instead.
Color psychologists have determined that when used properly the color red often evokes feelings of passion, energy, excitement, stimulation, courage and strength. However, red can also lead to feelings of anger, defiance, strain and aggression.
Within our mobile platform, users will notice the color red used mainly for emphasizing important disclaimers, signature prompts, timer countdowns or nonrecurring call-to-action buttons. These UI elements were placed sparingly and tactfully to elicit excitement, energy, and stimulation from voters during the online voting experience.
The proper use of the color blue is said to induce feelings of serenity, thoughtfulness, tranquility, trust, stability and higher levels of productivity. In contrast, blue's negative undertones include feelings of aloofness, emotional bluntness, coldness and haunting.
We used the color blue more generously in UI elements that still required emphasis but appeared more frequently throughout the platform, such as progress indicators, recurring call-to-action buttons, and general notifications.
The Outcome
Engage in civic responsibility and build a healthier, more inclusive democracy.
A recent study of the State of West Virginia's mobile voting application, Voatz, showed that the ability to cast votes conveniently and electronically not only led to an increase in overall voter turnout but also reduced the cost of voting for the state. Further, the convenience of this electronic vote is proven to reduce inequalities seen in voter participation as well.
In order for this online ballot submission platform to come to life, the State of California will have to increase investments in blockchain technology, application programming interfaces, marketing tactics, and employee trainings. Ensuring all overseas citizens have an approachable and trustworthy way to exercise their right to vote will take time and money, but the payoff will be worth it.
With the possibility to broaden the user base to the entire state (and potentially the entire country), the State of California has the unique opportunity to be one of the pioneer states in the movement towards remote, online voting. Voters will respect the effort to modernize the current voting experience and reward the state by actively participating in their civic duty. The following indicators can also be used to evaluate the performance of the mobile platform.
Potential ways of measuring success
A vote for impact
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the world as we've always known it.
Quarantines, lockdowns, and social distancing forced us to explore remote alternatives to every aspect of our daily lives. As a society, we have responded to a world-altering crisis by overcoming educational obstacles, cutting down cultural restraints, and breaking through technological barriers.
Which leads us to the question... Could technology be the future of democracy too?