PA Voter Portal

Design Challenge

To evaluate and re-structure a website in order to create an improved user experience.

Problem Space

Pennsylvania’s Department of State provides citizens with an online voter services portal titled PA Voter Services. The tool includes valuable functions such as voter registration, absentee ballot application, and status confirmation.

Although helpful and important, the site could benefit from an improved user experience. The current interface is outdated, unintuitive, and oftentimes confusing.

The purpose of this project is to make people feel more comfortable participating in the voting process, and to modernize the voting experience so as to encourage younger people to become active voters.

Research

Participants

Interview Participant Type:	User
PA Voters Interviewed:	7 People
Voting Experience Range:	2 Months – 24 Years
Interview Types Conducted:	In-Person & Survey Questionnaire

Interview Questions

How long have you been a Pennsylvania registered voter?
What challenges have you faced in the past that you feel acted as a barrier to a smooth voting experience for you?
Tell me about the process you usually go through to seek & find information about your voter registration status, poll location, and other election information.
What kind of information and/or functionality do you feel would be beneficial to make available in a digital environment, in order to make the voting process easier and more accessible to people?
Have you ever used the voter services portal website? If so, can you share your experience with using it? Was it easy to use? Were you confused or frustrated at any point?
What features do you think the site should have as a voter services portal? Can you name something you like about the website’s current functionality? How about something you dislike and/or think needs improvement?
Do you check election night results? If so, what is your primary source for viewing results?
Do you know where your polling place is located?
Have you ever used or voted with an absentee ballot?
Do you have any suggestions about what could improve the voting experience for you in the future?

Insights

Users cited a cumbersome website, long lines, and outdated voting equipment as barriers to a successful voting experience.
A majority of participants said they go online to seek voter registration and election information, yet almost none of them recalled using the PA Voter Portal for these purposes.
Several participants suggested they would not be opposed to a fully digital election, with options to complete the entire voting process via desktop or mobile application.