50 IDEAS

FOR MORE

ACCESSIBLE

ELECTIONS

October 2012

Foreword

The Information Technology and Innovation

accessible election experience for everyone?” We

also held two design workshops where we brought

together a diverse group of stakeholders,

including voting technology vendors, security

experts, election officials, people with disabilities,

accessibility advocates, designers, and

researchers from various fields, to work together

to generate concepts that could help make the

voting process more accessible.

will spur others to continue to innovate and pursue

new ways of making elections more accessible for

all Americans.

Daniel Castro

Project Director

ITIF Accessible Voting Technology Initiative

50 Ideas for More Accessible Elections

50 Ideas for More Accessible Elections

1. Virtual “I Voted!” stickers

Problem: “I voted” stickers remind friends and neighbors

to vote, but they are not accessible for everyone,

especially voters with vision disabilities or those who

vote absentee from home.

2. Preferences on voter registration

Problem: Since election officials do not always have

good information about their voters’ specific needs and

preferences, they do not always send voters information

in the most accessible format for them.

Idea: Election officials could allow voters to indicate on

their voter registration forms their preferences, such as

using a large print or non-English language ballot, so poll

workers can be better prepared on Election Day.

3. A genius bar for voting

Problem: Some voters need a little extra assistance,

attention, time or flexibility to meet their voting needs.

4. Easy-to-adjust voting systems

Problem: Since there are different kinds of wheelchairs,

technologies, and physical abilities to consider, some

voting systems may not put the ballot directly in front of

the voter.

Idea: A simple, safe, easy-to-adjust mounting arm could

make voting systems more accessible by placing the

screen in the right place for each voter. These are

commercially available at a low cost.

5. A “Yelp” for polling places

Problem: Election officials do not always receive a lot of

feedback on how well a polling place is run, especially in

big districts with many polling places.

feedback to election officials on what is, or is not,

working and how to improve the voting experience.

Ratings for polling places could help voters identify the

most accessible early voting centers and well-run polling

places. This would also let the community recognize the

expertise of election officials who operate the best

polling places, who can then help improve neighboring

locations.

12. Make online forms fully accessible

Problem: Paper forms are totally inaccessible for many

voters, including those with vision and dexterity

disabilities.

including voter registration forms and absentee ballot

request forms, are available online and follow

accessibility best practices. In addition, voters should be

able to complete and submit all forms online.

13. Easy to read election information

Problem: For voters who do not read well, election

information can seem like a jumble of words. As a result,

these individuals may be embarrassed to vote.

could allow voters to read the information ahead of time

or use tools on their computer to change the appearance

of the text to make it easier to read. Election officials

should ensure that information is provided in plain

language, using everyday words for election concepts.

14. Drive-through voting

Problem: When drop boxes for postal voting and

absentee ballots are not easy to get to, because they are

across a sidewalk from the curb or inside a building, it

makes it hard for voters with mobility disabilities to

deposit their ballots.

Idea: Election officials could use a drive-through drop-off

location, much like we use for fast food, pharmacies, and

banks, to make it easier to return ballots. This eliminates

the need to search for a place to park or force voters to

navigate a new—and potentially inaccessible—building.

15. Mobile-friendly election web sites

Problem: For people with disabilities, smartphones can

be a lifeline, but election web sites do not always work

well on a small mobile device screen. This can keep

voters who rely on their phone as their main computer

from finding election information.

Idea: Election officials should make sure that election

web sites and applications, like online voter registration,

work on mobile devices, either with a mobile app or a

website designed so that it automatically adapts to the

size of the screen. One way to help ensure that forms and

16. Add captions to videos

Problem: Videos are a great way to provide voter

education online, but without captions they are not

accessible for people with a hearing disability, people

learning English, or people in a noisy environment.

and captions to all videos to make them universally

accessible.

17. Election kiosks in care facilities

Problem: For people in hospitals, nursing homes, and

assisted living facilities, learning about elections and

getting to a polling place or early voting center can be a

challenge because they may be unable to easily leave the

facility.

Idea: Using lightweight, portable devices like iPads to

allow voters to view and mark their ballots could make it

easier for election officials to provide supervised voting

in care facilities. These devices could be used both as a

kiosk and as a portable voting device.

18. Ready-to-vote toolkit

Problem: It can be difficult for voters to find all the

information about how to vote, such as election dates,

options for where to vote, how the voting systems works,

and what is on the ballot. This problem can be especially

acute for voters who have trouble using the Internet.

Idea: Election officials could create a “ready-to-vote”

toolkit to bring together all the information a voter needs,

with information in print, audio, video, Braille, and

access to a hotline all in one package. These kits could

be distributed directly to voters or made available to

19. See. Click. Fix.

Problem: If a voter sees a problem that cannot be resolve

at a polling place, they may not know how to report it and

get it fixed. Fixing these problems is particularly

important if it is keeping voters from participating in an

election.

Idea: Hotlines like 311 and websites like “See. Click.

Fix.” let people connect to their local government. These

types of communication platforms could give voters the

same opportunity to quickly report problems to election

officials for immediate resolution.

20. Self-assessment tools to check

Problem: Election officials and individuals at non-profits

who provide election support services may not know how

to make sure that all people with disabilities can

participate equally in elections when they are first

learning about accessibility.

Idea: Self-assessment tools like the Cambridge Exclusion

Calculator provide useful guidelines that could help

21. Interactive voter’s guide

Problem: With so much information on some ballots,

some voters may experience information overload,

especially if the information about the different offices,

candidates, and ballot propositions has to be collected

from many different sources.

Idea: An online interactive voter’s guide could bring

together all of this information in one place. For example,

the voter’s guide could include a sample ballot,

descriptions of each office, and explanations of ballot

questions. Voters could then use their own devices and

28. Use QR codes to enter long URLs

Problem: The website address for the local election

office may be too long to remember or easily type,

especially if it is displayed on a sign or other printed

materials. For voters with visual or cognitive disabilities,

transferring information from one form to another can be

Idea: Election offices could include a QR code on all of

their signs and mailings so that individuals can scan the

29. A voter help hub

Problem: Voters who need help cannot easily find people

who are willing to provide help in their communities.

30. Interactive guide to prepare to vote

Problem: Getting ready to vote starts long before Election

Day and requires voters to make sure they are registered

to vote, learn when and where they can vote, and decide

whether they will vote in-person or absentee. Some voters

with cognitive disabilities may have difficulty

Idea: An interactive online system or mobile app could

help guide voters through this process. For example, this

31. Crowdsource subtitles for videos

Problem: Election departments use video to provide

information and voter education; however, these videos

are not always provided in other languages.

subtitled in different languages might be directly from the

community. Election officials could work with community

organizations or individual volunteers to crowdsource

captions using open source tools like Amara. Providing

transcripts of the videos is also helpful for many voters

and makes it easier for search engines to find the videos.

32. Online wait times

Problem: The long wait at polling places may discourage

people from voting.

33. Use students as poll workers

Problem: Many election departments struggle to find

enough poll workers.

workers. By starting early, these students might make

being a poll worker a lifelong habit.

34. Create a virtual suggestion box

Problem: Some election officials are unsure about how to

make a polling place, or other election administration

functions, more accessible.

to make their polling place more accessible. Election

officials should allow voters to easily give feedback to

election officials at the polling place or online. An open

discussion of problems and solutions can also increase

transparency and accountability.

35. Voting vans

Problem: Some voters have trouble getting to the polling

place because they do not have good transportation

options or are home-bound. This can be a particular

problem for people in assisted living facilities, nursing

homes, or rural communities without good public

Idea: Election officials could take the polling place to

these voters by using a voting van. A voting van could go

36. Polling place accessibility map

Problem: Voters may not know about the accessible

voting options in their communities, especially for those

who live in communities with in-person early voting or

Election Day voting centers that can handle voters from

different election districts.

Idea: Placing maps of accessible voting centers in the

community, such as at bus and subway stations, could

raise awareness about the options available to voters and

help voters find the accessible voting center most

convenient to them.

37. Better signage

Problem: If voters cannot see directional signs easily and

from a distance, they can be frustrated trying to enter the

polling place, especially if there is a separate accessible

entrance. When mobility is difficult, extra steps to get to

the right place are an added penalty.

Idea: Election officials should ensure that signs are

visible from a distance. Signs should show where

accessible entrances are located, where to go once

inside, and where to sit for those who need to rest. Better

signs help everyone and improve the flow of traffic in the

44. Mail an absentee voting device

Problem: Some voters need to vote with an accessible

absentee ballot from their home. However, even if the

ballot is provided to them electronically, they may not be

able to use it if they do not have a personal computer

with the necessary accessibility features, such as a

Idea: Instead of relying on voters having their own

personal computers, election officials could provide a

45. Tell a story. Enact a scene.

Problem: Since some poll workers do not have enough

experience interacting with voters with disabilities, they

may be uncomfortable or afraid that they will say the

wrong thing. This may lead to a poor experience at the

polling place for voters.

Idea: Election officials could use role-playing games to

educate poll workers on how to interact with voters with

disabilities. Videos with scenes that show good practices

could support in-person training sessions. Enabling poll

workers to practice typical scenarios in advance could

46. Barcodes to transfer voting choices

Problem: Some accessible voting systems allow voters to

mark their ballots and then bring the completed ballot to

a scanner to cast their ballot. However, voters who do

not have the use of their hands or who cannot see the

ballot may need assistance which reduces their

Idea: Ballot selections could be both portable and private

for everyone if they were embedded in a two-dimensional

47. Standards for assistive devices

Problem: There are no universal standards for connecting

specialized keyboards and communication devices to

specialized devices to use the technology they are

already familiar with to vote.

Idea: Universal communications standards, both for the

hardware and the ballot, would make it possible to

connect personal assistive technology to voting systems,

and use it to vote.

48. Tap it to configure it

Problem: Some voting systems have many accessibility

features, but it may be difficult to setup these

personalized options for each voter or for the voter to

remember which settings are useful.

Near Field Communication (NFC) to quickly “tap” the

voting system and automatically have it configured to

49. Simplify the interaction

Problem: Ballots are often complex and designed for

visual access. When they are converted into an audio

ballot for non-visual access, they are can be difficult or

slow to use.

intuitive, manageable chunks by clearly separating

contests for different levels of government.

50. Preferences on voter registration

Problem: Voters with disabilities do not have an easy

way to tell poll workers what ballot format or other

assistance they need. This sometimes forces them to

announce their disability publicly, even if they prefer it to

be private.

Idea: Instead of making voters announce their

disabilities, or forcing poll workers to guess, election