Center for Civic Design and IWG What does AVR mean for local elections offices

1. Center for Civic Design and IWGWhat does AVR mean for local elections offices Whitney Quesenbery Center for Civic Design @civicdesign

2. How to get help with your implementation • The IWG coordinates support for state and local election and agencies as well as advocates working to ensure smooth implementation of automated voter registration systems. • We can assist with design issues, testing, legal review, public education and engagement plans, data transfer plans, and other issues. Center for Secure and Modern Electionsmodernreg.org

3. Workshop (May 2018) with local election officials We asked: What's the real impact of AVR on elections? How does AVR change local election office processes and workload?  What do you hear from voters and others as AVR is implemented?

4. Less paper to handle even with more volume • Decrease in paper registrations started with introduction of online voter registration. • With AVR, the volume went up, but with electronic data transfer. • Result: • Faster and simpler processing Montpelier, VT (population 7855 in 2010)

5. The right policies, technology, and design make a difference Source: Lisa Danetz’ report on voter registration modernization for Democracy Fund

6. The impact is real…more people registered to vote • New registrations • More seamless updates when voters move within the state • Addresses updated as a routine transaction, so voters get the right ballot at election time California total at 1 year(April 2018 - March 2019) 1.1M new registrations 2.5M re-registration in new county 470K updated addresses 4.1M total

7. Many turn out to vote: contact encourages participation • In Oregon 43% of newly registered people cast a ballot. • Rhode Island and Washington DC saw higher turnout among all voters touched by their new AVR programs than overall.

8. Implementation success is in the details Make sure voters understand the questions, instructions, and actions in every step and communication. Think about the entire experience – and everyone in the process - from the DMV counter to a completed, approved voter registration form. Plan your testing from day one to cover forms, work flow, data transfer and voter registration processes. Get everyone involved in making voter registration modernization a success.

9. What we do Observations at the service agency Workshops with stakeholders Testing and revising forms Testing in all languages

10. Sharing what works Guidelines and examples based on implementations in five states with hundreds of people – and on plain language and interaction design best practices. civicdesign.org/projects/voter-reg/

11. This is your official signature for voting. Sign within the lines. ^ Oregon Focus on what will happen and what the options are. Explanations in simple language. Break declarations into bullets. Plain talk helps voters understand < and ^ Colorado ^ Rhode Island

12. The Center for Civic Design • Using design for a better voter experience. • Our goal is to make ever interaction between government and citizens easy, effective and pleasant. • @CivicDesign • www.civicdesign.org • hello@civicdesign.orgcivicdesign.org/projects/voter-reg/