A walk-through of changes proposed by experts for New York State's ballot design rules.

1. Voter friendly ballots for New York
Changes to New York State Election Law,
for more usable ballot design and instructions
Design for Democracy Usability in Civic Life

2. 2
The current ballot is cluttered and hard to read.
Party emblems and the All capital letters and centered text makes it
“finger” add clutter harder to read
Voting ovals to
the right of the
names
Extra information
near the candidate
names adds clutter
Instructions use complex language and are
placed where they are less likely to be read Front of Broome Country
2010 General Election Sample Ballot

3. 3
Instructions on the back are difficult to read
Instructions are lengthy and use
complex language
Instructions for contests and for
questions and propositions are
bundled together.
The location makes them less
likely to be read.
The small font size makes them
difficult to read.
They are easily lost next to the
propositions
Back of NYC 2010
General Election Sample Ballot

4. 4
The new ballot concept (front)
This concept shows both the impact of revisions to the law, and
a design based on the Election Assistance Commission ballot design
best practice guidelines.

5. 5
The new ballot concept (back)
Only ballot questions or propositions, along with instructions for voting on
them on the back of the ballot.

6. 6
Shorter, clearer instructions
placed where they will be read
Mark the oval to the left of the name of your choice.
To vote for a candidate whose name is not printed on theballot, print the name
clearly under the words "Write-in", staying within the box
The number of choices is listed for each contest. Do not mark the ballot for more
candidates than allowed. If you do, your vote in that contest will not count.
If you make a mistake, or if you want to change your vote, ask a poll worker for a
new ballot.
Instructions can be varied to match the ballot layout for
! different systems
§7-106 (6): Provides instructions that are clearer and shorter
§7-106 (7): Places instructions on the upper left hand corner where they are more likely to be
read
§7-106 (6): Provides, at a minimum, an illustration to show how to properly mark a paper ballot

7. 7
Instructions for contests and ballot questions
each placed near where they are used.
To vote on a question or proposal, mark the oval to the left of your choice.
Para votar en una pregunta o propuesta, marque el óvalo a la izquierda de su
preferencia.
If you make a mistake, or if you want to change your vote, ask a poll worker
for a new ballot.
Si comete un error o deséa cambiar su voto, pida una papeleta nueva a un
trabajador electoral.
Instructions can be varied to match the ballot layout for
! different systems
§7-106 (8) Provides separate and specific Instructions for questions and propositions

8. 8
Reduced clutter near candidate names makes
voting options easier to read
Removing extra information and using an easy-to-read
! narrower font allows text to be larger
§7-106 (9) B: To the extent practicable, voting ovals should be to the left of a candidate’s name
§7-106 (9) H: To the extent practicable, party emblems should not be printed under each
candidate’s name
§7-106 (9) C: To the extent practicable standard capitalization is used throughout ballot

9. 9
Reduced clutter on the back allows for
larger type in proposals and ballot questions
Removing extra information on the back of the ballot makes
! room for text in 12 point type, large enough for voters to read.

10. 10
Reduced clutter near party names and optional
shading makes the ballot easier to scan
Optional shading differentiates intructions and contest
! headings from voting choices
§7-104 (7): Removes the requirement that the “image of a closed fist with an index finger” be
printed to point towards a party row.
§7-106 (9) F: Provides flexibility for County Election Officials to use shading to differentiate
instructions from, when their systems allow them to do so.

11. Notes from the Election Assistance Commission’s 11
Ballot Design Guidelines
All capital letters display text as a The guidelines recommend using
solid shape, making it harder to a single sans-serif fonts with
read clean strokes, such as
Arial, Univers, or Verdanato give
the ballot a unified appearance.
Illustration from Ballot Design Basics, AIGA

12. 12
Larry Norden
lawrence.norden@nyu.edu
Whitney Quesenbery
Usability in Civic Life whitneyq@wqusability.com
Drew Davies
Design for Democracy drew@oxidedesign.com