ELECTION APP CASE STUDY
The Problem
“Fake News”: There is an increase of misinformation and mistrust in the U.S. democratic system. In the past two years, younger voters have grown increasingly disillusioned by the amount of conflicting information that is presented in the media and have grown pessimistic, believing that their vote does not really matter.
Voter I.D. Laws: Due to racial tension in the U.S. many people opt to not vote due to fear of polling place harassment, criminal records, & government I.D. restrictions. Many people also find the current voting machines to be confusing to understand.
Voter Fraud: Russian Hacks, miscounting, & repeat voters oh my! During the 2016 election it seemed as if any and every issue plagued the vote counting process. Again, misinformation spread across the media and people did not know what to trust.
The Solution
A verified app that provides official information about the candidates and their platform, polling place locations, reminders to register to vote, election countdowns, and information on the history of voting in America. The app will serve as a hub where voters can form subgroups to have discussions, make friends, and engage in debates. We live in a digital world that is growing exponentially, our election process needs to match the future that we live in where consolidated verified candidate & election information is available on to go.
“I didn’t vote in the midterms because I decided I don’t give a f**k about this country after Trump became president.”
The Survey
I asked five men and five women ages 23-30 about their thought on the election and voting process:
All 10 respondents agreed that social media influences their voting decisions in some way
4 respondents solely rely on social media to receive candidate information & decide on whom to vote for
3 respondents rely more on the candidate websites to receive information & decide on whom to vote for
2 respondents rely more on their families when deciding whom to vote for
1 respondent relies on the news/media when deciding whom to vote for
3 respondents admitted to voting for candidates based on social media popularity/influence
4/10 respondents identified as Independents
2/10 respondents identified as a Republicans
4/10 respondents identified as Democrats
“Social media has a HUGE influence on who we vote for. I know people who only vote based on how many followers a candidate has.”
The Survey (continued)
All 10 respondents agreed that they became disenchanted after the 2016 election and began to question if their vote really matters
3/10 respondents voted in the 2018 midterm election
5 respondents who did not vote in the midterms said it was because of the 2016 election results
1 respondent did not vote in the midterms because they forgot
1 respondent did not vote in the midterms because they were too busy
All 10 respondents agreed that a voting app would be more convenient
9 respondents expressed concern about the security of a voting app & how votes would be verified/counted
2/10 respondents have felt uncomfortable when voting at their polling place
One respondent felt uncomfortable because they did not know how to use the voting machine & were hesitant to ask for help
Another respondent was uncomfortable due to the amount of Trump supporters at their polling place & lack of minorities
WIREFRAMES
Onboarding: I wanted to keep the design straightforward & easy to navigate so I decided to add an onboarding process before the User gets to the login screen. The Onboarding screen will provide 3 different windows of information that can be swiped through or will slide automatically. The onboarding screen will only populate upon the first time the app is opened; after that, the app will load to the login screen.
Login: I kept the login screen standard with a block for the logo & app description with the option to sign up or login below.
Newsfeed: I added a stories option so Users can see what people they follow are up to. The newsfeed is arranged in chronological order and shows photos and status updates that can be liked, commented on, or shared.
User Profile: User profiles can be customized & Users will be able to select what they want to highlight: favorites, photos, or a bio. User activity is also displayed on their profile where you can see what they have liked or commented on.
Candidate Profile: Candidate profiles are similar to User profiles, but Candidate profiles are verified, show related groups and have a longer About Me section.
Group: Group pages feature a large Join Group button and a compose window where Users can add comments, photos, links, or attachments to the group’s feed.
LOGO
The blue verified check has become synonymous with trust on social media. There is only so much trust that one can give to a mobile app, especially in a time where hacks are commonplace in the government and in people’s personal lives. I wanted to combine a blue verified checkmark into the logo because the check mark has is seen as the symbol of voting.
VERSION II (2018)
After my prototype was tested by a group of users, I received the following feedback
Onboarding: too much whitespace around the illustration
Login: buttons are too small
Newsfeed: need to see more information above the fold, takes too long to scroll through, no notable difference between the home and explore icon
User Profile: looks like Instagram, photos aren’t as relevant as seeing information that tells you more about someone
Candidate Profile: about section needs to be the first thing users see
Group: lines around the text box are confusing, join group button looks awkward
I revised the app design to address the user feedback, focusing on streamlining the design to feel more intuitive.