Design ideas to improve the usability and security of mail-in ballots

Ted Selker (1) , Enka Blanchard (2)

1 Selker Design Research
2 LORIA - ALGO - Department of Algorithms, Computation, Image and Geometry

Despite the renewed discussion on mail-in voting, there has been little evolution on ballot and protocol design for this specific set of protocol constraints. This paper describes multiple designs pertaining to ballots, envelopes and chain of custody, that seek to improve the usability, accuracy and security of mail-in ballots. Our proposals include stickers to show voters how many selections can be made and where, and foldable envelopes that allows a user to slide their ballot through a viewing area in an organised way. These proposals also address ways of reducing voting errors for people with reading disabilities, short term memory problems, or motor difficulties.

Mots clés: Voting systems; Usability; Low technology

Domaines: Cryptographie et sécurité [cs.CR]; Science politique; Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

Ted Selker, Enka Blanchard. Design ideas to improve the usability and security of mail-in ballots. 2020. ⟨hal-02908417v1⟩