Design for Democracy
Publication by
Marcia Lausen
From the confusing
butterfly ballots of the 2000 presidential election in Palm Beach
County, Florida to the misaligned punch card layouts of Cuyahoga County,
Ohio just four years later, design counts in our elections. Design
for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design illustrates real
solutions that are poised to improve elections across the country in
2008 and beyond.
The long-awaited book by Marcia Lausen, a founding member
of the AIGA strategic initiative Design for Democracy,
is an essential advocacy tool for designers and election officials,
lawmakers and citizens. Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election
Design harnesses the power of design to increase voter confidence,
promote government transparency and create an informed—and
empowered—electorate. Its prototypes and recommendations have already
been used successfully in major Illinois and Oregon elections and are
fundamental to AIGA Design for Democracy’s 2007 ballot and polling place design guidelines on behalf of the U.S. Election
Assistance Commission (EAC).
The book is a co-publication of University
of Chicago Press and AIGA.