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Accessibility and Human Factors

Latest Releases

Overview

A drawing shows four people with various disabilities gathered together.
Credit: A. Reisberg, N. Hanacek/NIST

In order for voters to vote as they intend, privately and independently, it is vital that accessibility and human factors considerations are included during election system design and development.

NIST has a decades-long history of addressing the accessibility and usability of voting systems and processes based on human factors technical research and collaborations with subject matter experts. Drawing on this expertise and using its robust stakeholder engagement mechanisms, NIST conducts research in election systems to champion voters and election workers throughout the voting process.

Our stakeholders include not only election officials, system developers, and voting system test laboratories (VSTLs), but also voter advocates.

NIST performs research that examines the role of human factors in the design and application of next generation election systems, including:

  • Accessibility and usability standards for new election systems technology  
  • Guidance for applying human factors to new election systems technology
  • Guidance for testing systems and processes with voters and election workers

Implementation Guides

Research

Help for Election Officials

See EAC Website on Voting Accessibility

Publications
 

Publication
Date
Publication
Type
Title
11/2023 NIST VTS 100-3 Usability and Accessibility of Electronic Pollbooks Part 1: Usability in the Polling Place
11/2023 NIST VTS 100-3 Usability and Accessibility of Electronic Pollbooks Part 2: A Usability Test Protocol
11/2023 NIST VTS 100-3 Usability and Accessibility of Electronic Pollbooks Part 3: Checklists for Usability and Accessibility
11/2023 NIST VTS 100-2 Training Poll Workers for Accessible Voting: Supporting Voters with Disabilities at the Polling Place
11/2023 NIST VTS 100-2 Assisting Voters with Disabilities at the Polling Place (downloadable sample slide presentation)
01/2023 NIST VTS 400-5 Handbook for VVSG 2.0 Usability and Accessibility Test Strategies: A report on guidance and resources for how to test voting systems
01/2023 NIST VTS 100-1 Administering Accessible Vote by Mail Systems: Challenges and Innovations in Elections Offices
12/22/2015 NISTIR 8047 Cloud-based Accessibility for Voting Applications
1/5/2012 NISTGCR 12-956 Development of Appropriate Test Markings for Optical Scan Voting Machines, Phase 2: Analysis of Ballot Markings
5/2/2011 Paper Development of Appropriate Test Markings for Optical Scan Voting Machines, Phase 1: Ballot Scanning and Collection
5/2009 NISTIR 7596 Guidelines for Writing Clear Instructions and Messages for Voters and Poll Workers
5/2009 NISTIR 7556 Report of Findings: Use of Language in Ballot Instructions
10/2008 NISTIR 7537 Guidelines for Using Color in Voting Systems
8/2008 NISTIR 7519 Style Guide for Voting System Documentation
5/2004 NIST SP 500-256 Improving the Usability and Accessibility of Voting Systems and Products

Video Resources

Webinars on the VVSG 2.0 draft Requirements: Improving the Accessibility and Usability of Voting Systems

VVSG 2.0 Draft Requirements - Part 1: Introducing the Human Factors Requirements
Part 1: Introducing the Human Factors Requirements Slides: PPT or PDF

VVSG 2.0 Draft Requirements - Part 2: Updates to Best Practices and New Technologies for Voting Systems
Part 2: Updates to Best Practices and New Technologies for Voting Systems Slides: PPT or PDF

Accessibility Resources

Accessible Voting Technology

Created October 31, 2022, Updated November 30, 2023