RE: Here's why formatting and layout can really matter:

["Curtis Brautigam" <curtisb -at- nurserysupplies -dot- com>]

By taking a look at the Palm beach ballot, I personally would have been able
to figure it out. However, the Palm Beach Count butterfly ballot design is
not idiot-proof/user-friendly ballot. I can see how someone who is in a
hurry to finish their civic duty can inadvertently vote for someone who his
did reflect his/her personal preferences.

I don't believe that those who designed the Palm Beach ballot intentionally
sought to create confusion among Palm Beach voters. I am aware: 1) that the
people who run the Palm Beach County election board are Democrats, 2) that
the butterfly ballot design was used in previous elections, 3) that the
butterfly ballot is used in other places in the United States, and 4) that
the butterfly ballot design was submitted to the public before the election
and no complaints were voiced at that time. At the same time, it must be
recognized that 14,000 votes cast in Palm Beach County were thrown out in
1996 (as opposed to 19,000 in 2000). At that time, this did not matter,
because Clinton carried Florida by a comfortable margin. If this type of
ballot design has caused problems in the past, the appropriate authorities
should have learned from this and designed a new ballot.

Here are some more facts:
- Florida law stipulates that voters must place an X to the right of the
person for whom they are voting. On the Palm Beach ballot, several names
have holes to the left.
- Florida law also stipulates that the two major party candidates should
appear at the top of the ballot. On the Palm Beach County ballot,
Gore-Lieberman appeared below Buchanan-Foster (Reform).

I can see where the lawyers have a point in challenging the Palm Beach
electoral results, especially in light of the fact that the Buchanan vote in
highly Democratic, Jewish, Italian, and African-American Palm Beach County
was the highest proportion of the Buchanan vote in Florida, and that there
are only about 150 registered Reform Party voters in that county.

The democratic process is best served by making ballots and voting
instructions as idiot-proof, user-friendly, and as simple as possible. As
technical writers, we must continue to keep the audience and the users in
mind. While we might be able to figure out butterfly ballots, others may
not. I think that it is wrong to blame the user. We must instead place
responsibility on those who design the ballot and provide the voting
instructions.

I am a technical writer and a former political science professor. Perhaps we
ought to start a new consulting business on ballot design for election
officials. For starters, perhaps we should make the butterfly ballot design
illegal.

Curtis R. Brautigam
Technical Writer
Nursery Supplies, Inc.
Chambersburg, PA.


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