[Sigia-l] ballot usability redux

[Whitney Quesenbery]

At 03:12 AM 8/11/2003 -0400, James Spahr wrote:
>>So, unless they group by
>>parties and I haven't heard anybody suggesting that, then looking for
>>affiliations is random, whether the candidate names are randomized or
>>alphabetized.
>
>no no. I think it does. In this case the first name listed with a Green 
>Party affiliation *has* an advantage if a) I understood what Jared was 
>saying and b) the Verizon research is applicable.

There has been research on voting systems, and ballot position does matter. 
Which is why it's such an important issue.

The GOP was first in the 2000 Florida ballot because the GOP held the 
Florida gubernatorial seat.

Anyone interested in the details of the election process might want to 
visit the CA State Department: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/recall.htm

I've also started a page to gather news and information on the design/human 
factors/usability (as opposed to politics) issues 
http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_projects/voting_and_usability/2003 
_california_recall.html

Whitney Quesenbery
Whitney Interactive Design, LLC
w. www.WQusability.com
e. whitneyq at wqusability.com
p. 908-638-5467

UPA  - www.upassoc.org
STC Usability SIG: www.stcsig.org/usability