Easy Voter Guide - http://eva.smartvoter.org/site/evguide/

Research

The work of the nonpartisan Easy Voter Guide Project is based upon the results of an ongoing community-driven research and design process begun in 1994 that uses community-based market research to delve beneath the familiar approaches to addressing low voter turnout.

There is an apathy myth about why people don't vote or get involved in their communities. It is widely reported that nonvoters are lazy and/or do not care. The number one reason people give in surveys as to why they don't vote is that they don't have time.

Our research looked deeper and found three main issues among most nonvoters:

They don't see the relationship between politics and their own lives.
They perceive the voting process as being difficult, like taking a test (see below).
They do not get any social reinforcement about voting from their friends and family.

The most important predictor of whether 18–30 year olds vote is if they grew up in a household with voters. But we have the ability to motivate and educate those who did not have this civic advantage.

Why People Don’t Vote

We found that many common excuses about not voting relate to information needs.

This research also revealed 'performance anxiety' across all voter types:

What they say

What they mean

Don't like the choices Don't know the candidates/issues

My vote won't count Don't feel own opinion matters

Takes too much time Don't know how to vote

It's inconvenient

Intimidated by the process

First-Time Voters

Many can’t read the official Ballot Pamphlet or Sample Ballot
Uncertain about what will happen at the polling place
Voting feels like taking a test

More Experienced Voters

Wait until the night before to 'cram'
Feel they can’t fulfill their 'duty' to be well-informed on all the races

What People Asked For

We asked people what they wanted to get ready to vote. Both new and experienced voters asked for more user-friendly nonpartisan information.

New voters also asked for:

Reasons why to vote, from a peer perspective
Hands-on training about how to vote
Basic information about what they are voting on: choosing a party, types of elected officials, job descriptions, etc.

Community teams helped us develop this three-pronged model:

Diagram What Why and How of Voting

Click on the links below to download PDF documents summarizing this research:

Case Study: A Community Based Approach to Increasing Voter Turnout A comprehensive six-page summary of our original research results, with a discussion of the Easy Voter Guide and www.easyvoter.org.
Easy Voter Guide: A community-driven design process A one-page summation of how our research has influenced the work of the Easy Voter Guide Project.

Click on the link below to read our online report:

1996 Election Study The complete online report of our study of the Easy Voter Guide Project's approach to increasing voter turnout. Read how voter turnout among adult school students increased to 70% versus the norm of 35-36% among this demographic segment.

What they say	What they mean
Don't like the choices	Don't know the candidates/issues
My vote won't count	Don't feel own opinion matters
Takes too much time	Don't know how to vote
It's inconvenient	Intimidated by the process