Plain language makes information easier to find, understand and use for everyone. It is also an important part of making information more usable for people with cognitive, language and learning disabilities.
It’s also the law. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires the federal government to write clearly. Other laws require plain language for things like mortgages, patient information, and credit cards. Instructions on ballots also need plain language. Research by Janice (Ginny) Redish and Dana Chisnell shows its importance in helping people vote as they intend.
To get started with plain language:
Learn about plain language
The Center for Plain Language website has an overview of plain language and a toolkit for starting a program.
Plain Language: Adding Simplicity to Voting
Josephine Scott’s talk for an EAC Roundtable makes the case for plain language in elections.
Articles on plain language
Plain language is a process
There are great lists of guidelines and tips for writing in plain language, but when you are faced with making confusing instructions clear, where do you start? One way is to think about plain lang...
Saving your budget with plain language
At the annual gathering of county clerks, recorders, election officials, and treasurers, the closing keynote featured tips on how writing that everyone can understand can help officials do their work ...
Lost votes and error messages
A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice concludes that in 2010, tens of thousands of votes in New York did not count because of errors -- errors that can be easily caught or prevented to en...
Plain Writing Act of 2010
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 goes into effect on October 13, 2011. This law requires the federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, ...
Design Counts in Elections
In preparation for the 2012 elections, the Election Assistance Commission is holding a series of round table discussions. Whitney Quesenbery and Drew Davies, from AIGA's Design for Democracy project...
Absentee ballot instructions in Minnesota
In the 2008 election for Senator from Minnesota between Al Franken and Norm Coleman was decided only after a lengthy recount and legal battle that lasted over 8 months. One of the biggest controversie...
Plain language makes voting easier
It's always nice when we can connect two issues - like plain language in ballot instructions. In a new report for NIST, Ginny Redish draws the lines clearly: "Voters are exercising an important rig...
If you can't understand it, you can't use it
At the UPA 2008 Conference in Baltimore, Annetta Cheek, Chair, Center for Plain Language, gave of presentation on the connections between usability and plain language, with examples of plain -- and n...
Ginny Redish gives seminar on plain language in (accessibility) regulations
Ginny Redish is one of the internationally recognized experts in plain language, gave a seminar for members of the federal advisory committee updating US accessibility regulations (Section 508). She...
EAC Public Meetings on Usability and Accessibility
As part of the public review of the Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG), the EAC held a series of public roundtable discussions and public hearings. Usability in Civic Life leaders were invited...