NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.

Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

Legibility of Summary-Style Printed Ballots: What makes a printed summary-style ballot easy to verify?

Published

Author(s)

Lynn Baumeister, Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. Laskowski

Abstract

The ability of voters to review and verify their selections before casting their ballot is an important step in the voting process. This report explores the legibility and readability of summary ballots printed by ballot marking devices (BMDs) and the ability of optical character recognition (OCR) applications commonly found on mobile phones to voice (read) summary ballots. The report looks at the visual presentation of the ballot to identify typographic elements that might make it easier to read visually, the feasibility of using (OCR) to allow blind or low vision voters to hear their ballot read accurately, and whether there is a relationship between the design elements that support both visual and OCR-assisted reading.
Citation
Voting Technology Series - 100-4
Report Number
100-4
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.VTS.100-4
Local Download

Keywords

accessible voting, ballot marking devices, optical character recognition, summary ballot design, summary ballot layout, typography
Voting systems, Usability and human factors, Information technology and Accessibility

Citation

Baumeister, L. , Quesenbery, W. and Laskowski, S. (2025), Legibility of Summary-Style Printed Ballots: What makes a printed summary-style ballot easy to verify?, Voting Technology Series, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.VTS.100-4, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=958009 (Accessed October 3, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created January 31, 2025
Was this page helpful?