Center for Civic Design

1/ Testing helps ensure that voters can vote the way they intend. When it is easy for voters to use a ballot, they are more likely to vote as they intend.

2/ Put together a ballot, pick an interviewer, find voters, and find a place to watch them use the ballot.

3/ Test when you know what is going to be on the ballot or when something has changed.

4/ Usability testing answers questions about how and why voters will use the ballot. Know why you are conducting a usability test.

5/ Start testing early with a few voters trying out the first versions of the ballot, one at a time.

6/ Test with what you have available. Test again when you have the final version.

7/ Voters for your usability tests are everywhere. Go to them.

8/ Follow these steps to run each session of a usability test. 1. Introduce the session. 2. Watch the voter vote. 3. Listen for questions (don’t answer them) & comments (write them down). 4. When they are done voting, ask to walk through what they did and why. 5. Say thank you.