Accessibility and Usability Standards for 
Next Generation Voting Systems: 
Transferring the Results of the AVTI Research
Sharon Laskowski
sharon.laskowski@nist.gov
Visualization and Usability Group
Information Access Division
Information Technology Lab
Very Brief History of Voting System Standards for Usability and Accessibility 
•	VSS 1990, 2002  (FEC, NASED), 5 pages of usability and accessibility (U&A)
•	Help America Vote Act of 2002
•	IEEE P1583 U&A
•	Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG)
•	~25 pages, mostly best practices in UI design applied to voting systems
•	Led by the  EAC Technical Guidelines Development Committee
•	VVSG 1.0 released in 2005, certification to this standard, mandates vendor usability test reports (testing with voters)
•	VVSG 1.1, 2 rounds of public comment, waiting for release
•	VVSG 2.0 completed in 2007, not implemented 
•	Voting System Test Labs (VSTLs): qualifications for U&A and consistent testing?

Transformational Technology and IT Accessibility: Implications for Voting Systems
•	Current voting systems aging out. How do we move from kiosk to COTS mobile device U&A standards?
•	Mobile devices: I-pads and smart phones
•	Built-in accessibility; new assistive devices
•	Web applications
•	New best practices for accessibility and universal design
•	Opportunity to transfer AVTI research into  next generation of voting systems!

AVTI Research into Practice:  Informing Next Generation Systems and Processes
•	We have:
•	Voting accessibility survey data and pollworker education 
•	Accessibility needs and assistive technology
•	Universal design for voter interfaces on mobile devices
•	Plain language and interaction
•	Better design for wider range of voters with disabilities
•	New processes and workflow
•	selection of choices separated from submission and casting of votes
•	Results from multiple pilot tests in the field and formal testing with voters
•	We need:
•	U&A guidance, guidelines, standards, education
•	Cost information,  analysis of COTS issues
•	Interaction with best practices in security

The Role of NIST
•	Actively monitored the AVTI research and provided testing and VVSG expertise and our medium complexity test ballot as needed
•	Roadmap for the creation of next generation guidance,  standards, and education for U&A with input from researchers and stakeholders
•	“Next Generation Voting Platform Testbed” for demonstrating, exploring, and testing new voting system prototypes to:
•	Identify best practices in design
•	Identify best practices in testing performance
•	Identify research gaps and answers to research questions needed to inform standards
•	Explore accessible solutions and security issues