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Search Publications by: Sharon J. Laskowski (Assoc)

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 70

Designing Usable Audio for Voting Systems: Best Practices and a Test Approach

January 31, 2025
Author(s)
Lynn Baumeister, Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. Laskowski
Voting systems must support multiple interaction modes: presenting information both visually and auditorily, accepting navigation and selections from both screen touches and key presses on a tactile controller. The best practices outlined in this document

Usability for Poll Workers: A Voting System Usability Test Protocol

May 8, 2024
Author(s)
Dana Chisnell, Sharon J. Laskowski, Karen Bachmann, Svetlana Z. Lowry
In this paper, we discuss our efforts to develop a repeatable test protocol for assessing usability for poll workers – temporary election officials who ensure secure and private voting in voting places. The research described in this paper is part of a

Administering Accessible Vote by Mail Systems

January 25, 2023
Author(s)
Lynn Baumeister, Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. Laskowski
Accessible vote by mail (AVBM) provides options for voters with disabilities to complete their absentee or vote by mail ballots independently and privately. AVBM is especially important for voters with print disabilities that make it difficult to read or

Handbook for VVSG 2.0 Usability and Accessibility Test Strategies

January 25, 2023
Author(s)
Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. Laskowski
This document provides guidance and resources for how to test voting systems against the usability and accessibility requirements in the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0. The requirements include Principles 2.2 and 5 through 8. The goal of

Cloud-based Accessibility for Voting Applications

December 22, 2015
Author(s)
Shanee T. Dawkins, Sharon J. Laskowski
Since its creation, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has supported the development of new technologies for enhancing access for people with disabilities. Current research and

Personalized Voting: The Intersection of Cloud and Mobility

July 21, 2015
Author(s)
Shanee T. Dawkins, Sharon J. Laskowski
Current research and development being conducted by the international Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure Consortium (GPII) is to create technology for cloud-based accessibility. Using this new technology, users of computer systems can create personal

Report of Findings: Use of Language in Ballot Instructions

May 6, 2009
Author(s)
Janice G. Redish, Dana Chisnell, Ethan Newby, Sharon J. Laskowski, Svetlana Z. Lowry
In this study, we compared two ballots that differed only in wording and presentation of the language on the ballots. For Ballot A, we used conventional wording and presentation, taken from typical ballots. For Ballot B, we used plain language wording and

Guidelines for Using Color in Voting Systems

October 23, 2008
Author(s)
Maureen Stone, Sharon J. Laskowski, Svetlana Z. Lowry
This document is a digital color design guide for the electronic displays of voting systems. It encodes best practice for usability in general, and specifically to accommodate a wide range of color vision deficiencies. Systems that follow these guidelines

VAST 2008 Challenge: Introducing Mini-Challenges

August 29, 2008
Author(s)
Georges Grinstein, Catherine Plaisant, Sharon J. Laskowski, Theresa O'Connell, Jean Scholtz, Mark Whiting
Visual analytics experts realize that one effective way to push the field forward and to develop metrics for measuring the performance of various visual analytics components is to hold an annual competition. In its third year, we restructured the contest