Illinois Ballot (Re)Design
This summer, Dause researched ballot design in her home state of Illinois. Though she has been interested in politics and elections for a few years now, this was her first exploration into seeing how ballots are designed and what the best design practices are. The core of her project centers around guidelines provided by the Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that offers guidance and suggestions regarding the design and distribution of election materials. Dause conducted a systematic review of a sample selection of ballots from various Illinois counties and compared them to the guidelines and ran a short online survey of Illinois residents to get their input on current ballot design.