Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design

Following the now-infamous “butterfly ballot” incident in Florida, in which the ballot type confused voters during the 2000 presidential race, graphic designer Marcia Lausen, as part of a strategic program organized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, set out to determine new guidelines for the American voting process. Recognizing the importance of well-designed ballots to a functioning democracy, this manual presents suggestions for solving issues such as color palette, typography, and image use in order to improve the clarity and efficiency of the voting system. This project is an excellent example of the way designers take urgent problems and create objects that people can use in their everyday lives, helping to make complex information more understandable and visualizing new thinking that can have an enormous impact on the world.