What should a ballot look like

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Election Assistance Commission EAC , Mary Quandt and Drew Davies and their team learned the nittygritty of what makes design in election signage, posters, ballots, and other print materials effective for all kinds of voters. A ballot is a form that represents perhaps the most important interaction between a government and its citizens. Thousands of votes are lost in elections every year because of poorly designed ballots.

And yet, avoiding these design issues is not difficult or expensive. What a ballot looks like is constrained by legislation, technology, history, custom, cost, and other factors. But the anatomy of a ballot is fairly consistent throughout the more than 3, counties, parishes, and boroughs in the U. Design guidelines provide a tool for helping voters focus on their goal to cast votes for their preferred candidates. Left-aligned type is more legible than centered type, which forces the eye to hunt for the start of the next line.

Larger text may increase the number of pages but it is a worthwhile investment in election accuracy. For dual-language materials, use bold text for the primary language, regular text for the secondary language. Using just one font makes the ballot more unified. Different fonts make voters stop reading and adjust.