First-Time New York Voter Guide
First-Time New York Voter Guide
Date
Fall 2024
Fall 2024
Professor
Project Link
Project Description
This project involved creating a LibGuide designed to assist first-time voters in New York State. The guide aimed to consolidate key voting information, promote information literacy, and bridge the gap between complex voting procedures and new voters, covering topics such as voter registration, ballot information, elected officials, types of elections, and understanding policy.
Methods
The process began with research into the challenges many voters face in understanding ballot proposals and the various voting technologies used across different regions. Through that research, I found that existing resources often present this information in overly complex language, which limits voter comprehension. With that gap identified, the goal became simplifying this information and presenting it in an accessible way. This involved analyzing existing materials and distilling key concepts related to ballot proposals and voting technology into clear, approachable language suited for a LibGuide format.
Role & Contributions
This was a collaborative project with Nick Brenner, Isabel Brandt, Yuan Scisent, and Connor O'Brien. My primary contribution involved developing the Ballot Information section of the LibGuide. I also worked to ensure users could engage with the guide intuitively, making complex information about the voting system and its technologies more accessible and digestible for a general audience.
Learning Outcome
Ethical/Creative/Critical Practice
Rationale
The motivation for this project came from recognizing, even as someone familiar with the voting process, that ballot proposals and voting technologies are often presented in language that assumes a level of prior knowledge most first-time voters lack. Existing government websites and voter guides tend to scatter this information across multiple sources, making it difficult to build a coherent understanding in one place. The ballot proposal section was particularly challenging because the language used in proposals resists simplification without losing precision, so finding the right balance between accuracy and plain language required close attention to what a first-time voter actually needs to know versus what is a procedural detail. This experience reinforced how essential it is for information professionals to recognize when complexity in public-facing information is a barrier rather than a necessity, and to take responsibility for bridging that gap.
Gallery
Project Description
This project involved creating a LibGuide designed to assist first-time voters in New York State. The guide aimed to consolidate key voting information, promote information literacy, and bridge the gap between complex voting procedures and new voters, covering topics such as voter registration, ballot information, elected officials, types of elections, and understanding policy.
Methods
The process began with research into the challenges many voters face in understanding ballot proposals and the various voting technologies used across different regions. Through that research, I found that existing resources often present this information in overly complex language, which limits voter comprehension. With that gap identified, the goal became simplifying this information and presenting it in an accessible way. This involved analyzing existing materials and distilling key concepts related to ballot proposals and voting technology into clear, approachable language suited for a LibGuide format.
Role & Contributions
This was a collaborative project with Nick Brenner, Isabel Brandt, Yuan Scisent, and Connor O'Brien. My primary contribution involved developing the Ballot Information section of the LibGuide. I also worked to ensure users could engage with the guide intuitively, making complex information about the voting system and its technologies more accessible and digestible for a general audience.
Learning Outcome
Ethical/Creative/Critical Practice
Rationale
The motivation for this project came from recognizing, even as someone familiar with the voting process, that ballot proposals and voting technologies are often presented in language that assumes a level of prior knowledge most first-time voters lack. Existing government websites and voter guides tend to scatter this information across multiple sources, making it difficult to build a coherent understanding in one place. The ballot proposal section was particularly challenging because the language used in proposals resists simplification without losing precision, so finding the right balance between accuracy and plain language required close attention to what a first-time voter actually needs to know versus what is a procedural detail. This experience reinforced how essential it is for information professionals to recognize when complexity in public-facing information is a barrier rather than a necessity, and to take responsibility for bridging that gap.
Gallery