UPA states view on Voting System Usability and Effectiveness in California Recall Decision

The Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) has given its support to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' consideration of the effectiveness of the voting experience in its decision to delay the gubernatorial recall election in California.

The association has also called for a full evaluation of all US voting systems, to make certain that voters are able to cast a proper vote with ease and efficiency.

Whitney Quesenbery is director of the UPA's Voting and Usability Project, an outreach project designed to provide its membership with standards and best practices for evaluating the ease-of-use of voting systems internationally. She expresed her concern over punch card and other systems, as well as the rush to conduct an election featuring a long, difficult ballot: 'Once again, the usability of a long-used voting system has been called into question by our judiciary. It is crucial that all voting systems in the US be properly evaluated for usability.'

The difficulty of punch card voting has been cited as a key reason for confusion in the 2000 presidential election. She cited the court decision's statement that as many as 40,000 voters might unintentionally miscast their punch-card style ballot. This staggering figure could easily mean the difference in an election. A voter attempting to cast a ballot at the polls has no way to be sure the vote has been properly punched.

The court noted that any transition to new systems should be well thought out and orderly, with adequate time for training. The UPA believes that usability evaluation and user-centered design should be a part of that process.

Associated Link: UPA evoting project

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