This week the presidential primaries begin. And the general election is less than a year away. Recently there has been great debate over the legitimacy of some ballots due to their poor design.

So what role should design play? Clearly there is an issue with the design of the current ballots.

In 1998, AIGA started Design for Democracy as a strategic initiative to demonstrate the value of design. And how it can impact the democratic process. Ultimately the goal was to serve the public good.

On June 14, 2007, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) accepted AIGA Design for Democracy’s research report and best practice recommendations on ballot and polling place material design. Design for Democracy is now involved with state and local jurisdictions to update local regulations. To accomplish this, state and local jurisdictions are encouraged to contact local designers, selection officials, vendors and printers to apply these guidelines.

(Image by Dom Dada via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)

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