Why the article is helpful
- Ballot interfaces variability affect voting performance of people with disabilities
- Difference in performance due to interaction of system features with learned coping techniques
- Recommendation of a hybrid system: full-face system and DRE
The author discussed the effect of current ballot interfaces on user performance with people who were diagnosed and those undiagnosed with a disability. Results showed that voters with a diagnosed reading disability were able to perform much better on full-faced voting machines than those who seemed to have similar disabilities but were undiagnosed. It was suggested that the diagnosis allowed voters to develop methods to compensate for their disability. In contrast, the diagnosed group performed worse than others when using standard-sized Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) systems. The author recommended a hybrid solution that orients users and guides them through the ballot selection process.
Links to article
Selker, T., Goler, J. A., & Wilde, L. F. (2008). Who does better with a big interface? Improving Voting Performance of Reading Disabled Voters. MIT/Caltech.