Work on the next version of the federal Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, VVSG 2.0, is almost complete.

In two free webinars on September 25, you’ll hear how the new and updated requirements for usability and accessibility address issues that voters still encounter with accessible voting, cover technologies now in common use, and catch up to current best practices in voting systems.

The Human Factors Public Working Group — led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — has worked for several years on new and updated guidance. This guidance will help the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) develop final requirements for accessibility and usability in VVSG 2.0

The webinars will feature Sharon Laskowski, NIST Voting Program and Deputy Division Chief of the NIST Information Access Division/Information Technology Lab, and Whitney Quesenbery, Co-director of the Center for Civic Design.

All are welcome to join the webinars.

Webinar 1: Introducing the Human Factors Requirements

Wednesday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Eastern

• Goals for the new requirements and how they’ll help make voting more accessible

• Structure and organization of the requirements under the VVSG 2.0 principles and guidelines

• Process used to develop the draft requirements

• How usability testing and user-centered design are incorporated in the requirements

View webinar 1 on the NIST website.

Webinar 2: Updates to Best Practices and New Technologies for Voting Systems

Wednesday, September 25, 3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Eastern

• How federal accessibility laws and regulations are incorporated

• Changes in ballot text size and contrast

• Gestures and scrolling to include new technology in a voting system in an appropriate way

• Features to support voters in making selections and carefully reviewing their ballots

View webinar 2 on the NIST website.