Mental models: concepts for human-computer interaction research
International Journal of Man-Machine Studies
Mental models and problem solving in using a calculator
CHI '83 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Accessible polling places for the visually impaired: a compilation of survey results
EVT/WOTE'11 Proceedings of the 2011 conference on Electronic voting technology/workshop on trustworthy elections
Mental models of verifiability in voting
Vote-ID'13 Proceedings of the 4th international conference on E-Voting and Identity
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One of the options available to a sizable minority of U.S. voters is the ability to, with a single action, cast votes in multiple races; this is termed straight-party voting (SPV). SPV is implemented inconsistently across the U.S. and this may result in voter confusion, threatening the integrity of elections. We presented survey respondents with multiple SPV scenarios, testing both their understanding of SPV-marked ballots and their likelihood of using SPV to make multiple selections on a ballot. Participants were also asked their opinions on how SPV ought to work. Voters had significant difficulty in interpreting SPV ballots and were reluctant to generate them, though this was improved when ballots had more clear and detailed instructions. Participants also tended to believe that SPV should not work the way they believed it had worked on ballots they had previously seen. Overall, our results suggest that SPV is a likely cause of voter confusion, suggesting further research on the usability of straight-party voting systems.