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What does the near future promise for usability?
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Double column |
The layout of double pages with punch holes in between was novel & unfamiliar. Ballots in previous elections had used only a single column with punch holes on the right. (In the current ballot, other pages also had only a single column.) The new double-column layout may have been disorienting to voters, particularly in the senior population. |
Alignment of the text in each column |
Text in the left column was left-aligned, but text in the right column was right-aligned. In addition, the right column was positioned slightly lower than the left column. This made the right column look like supplementary information, similar to the text in the leftmost column ("Electors for President and Vice President"). Therefore the right column and its relationship to the punch holes may not even have been perceived. Also, the word "Democratic" was more closely aligned with the punch hole for the Reform Party than with the punch hole for the Democratic Party. |
Vertical separation and spacing |
There was no quick visual relationship between the boxes and the punch holes. This problem was exacerbated because the punch holes relating to the left and right columns were interspersed. The close vertical spacing of the punch holes created further confusion. |
Arrows and numbers |
The arrows were very small. The distance from the arrows to the punch holes may have been too great to make the relationship sufficiently clear. The numbers next to the arrows had no meaning and just added to the general confusion. |
Stress induced by the voting process |
People wanted to get in to the booths and get out; they may have been standing in line for a while, aware that others were waiting behind them. In Florida there is also a 5-minute time limit for voting. Manual dexterity was required for punching the holes. Taken together these factors may have produced an anxious or stressful situation, in particular for seniors, making them more prone to error. |
Conclusion |
The design is error-prone. For the particular case in question, this could have resulted in the following scenario: someone planning to vote Democratic might have seen that their party was in the second box and then just punched the second hole, not noticing that it related to a different party. This problem might apply not only to a Democratic vote, but also to a vote for any party further down the ballot on either side. |
See Bob Bailey's newsletter on usability issues arising from the Palm Beach County ballot |
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