How Are US Cities Sharing Information with Voters?
Updated: 16 hours ago
Building nonpartisan elections materials that every voter can understand is a real challenge for elections officials today, many of whom are serving in unpaid or part-time roles while managing a complex set of voting rules. Crimsonbridge Foundation partner Center for Civic Design is helping election officials in jurisdictions large and small across the US to make the voting process easier to understand, with a particular focus on Ranked Choice Voting (or RCV), a system that’s newer to many voters.
As Center for Civic Design shared, “Voters’ questions and information needs shift from before, during, and after the ballot.” Recognizing that shift and designing nonpartisan communications around it helps election officials build a stronger, clearer voter process. Center for Civic Design breaks this into three phases:
Before voting: Maximize the number of touchpoints with voters. This means using many information channels and making sure materials show up in the places voters are looking.
During voting: Reinforce how to vote. Voters should have all the information they need to vote, right at hand, to cast their ballot the way they intend.
After voting: Share results clearly, so voters understand how their ballot was counted and how the winner won.
In a recent meeting with election officials, the Center for Civic Design shared case studies from three local jurisdictions that have implemented Ranked Choice Voting: St. Louis Park, Minnesota, New York City, and Multnomah County, Oregon. Each one offered a lesson in how to communicate a new voting system well.
St Louis Park, MN: As a smaller jurisdiction introducing new terminology to voters for the first time, St. Louis Park showed how more choices on the ballot can also mean more voice for voters, as long as the concept is explained clearly. Their pocket voter guides, mailer cards, and magnets let voters move easily between formats to find more information or take action. Consistent branding and messaging across every piece meant voters could recognize and trust the material no matter where they encountered it, and the multi-touchpoint approach helped reach voters more than once before Election Day.
New York City, NY: As a large jurisdiction, NYC used a "bite, snack, meal" approach to layer information. Voters get a quick bite — the essential need-to-know — with the option to move to a snack of additional detail, and then a full meal of information for those who want to go deeper. This tiered approach let NYC serve casual voters and highly engaged voters with the same set of materials.
Multnomah County, OR: Multnomah County focused on preparing local reporters to communicate Ranked Choice Voting election results accurately. The Center for Civic Design shared best practices with local media for reporting on election night and beyond — including how to frame preliminary results, updates on incomplete counts, complete results, and final official results. They also showed media how to present both vote percentages and vote totals side by side, so it's clear not just who won, but by how much. Another key recommendation: show the first and last tabulation rounds together, giving voters an easy-to-digest picture of how the Ranked Choice Voting process worked.
Takeaway: Let Voters Practice
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Center for Civic Design’s top recommendation is giving voters the chance to practice Ranked Choice Voting before they vote for real. NYC’s multilingual ballot privacy sleeve is another strong example of this principle in action: clear directions and visuals, built directly into the voting experience, that help voters fill out a Ranked Choice Voting ballot with confidence.
To learn more, see their best practices on designing nonpartisan voter education, or sign up for their newsletter, visit the Center for Civic Design’s website.