San Rafael, CA – “Am I registered to vote?” “What’s on my ballot?” “Did you get my ballot?” These are common questions voters ask before any election. Until now, the answers were found in separate locations and applications on the Marin County Elections Department website, requiring a voter to log in to each.
"As I browse our website, I think, ‘How can we make this easier for our voters? Why do they have to log in multiple times to find answers?’” said Lynda Roberts, Marin County’s Registrar of Voters. “I wanted to have a site where the voter logs in once, and can find the answers to their key questions and get information about the upcoming election.”
Voila! The Marin County Information Services and Technology (IST) Department team has made the concept a reality.
Information and applications have been consolidated into one source, the new Voter Dashboard. It implements responsive web design principles to provide an optimal experience, regardless of the voter’s device.
Upon logging in, voters are immediately presented with pertinent, helpful information, such as their registration status and their polling location. Voters can even get directions to their polling place, complete some self-service options and delve deeper into information about the coming election.
The Voter Dashboard incorporates a revised version of the Voter Guide website. IST Project Manager Wesley Hill said that allows voters to review their ballot and mark their selections, creating an efficient cheat sheet for filling out their actual ballot. It is compatible with modern browsers, including recent versions of Internet Explorer (9+), Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
The Voter Dashboard includes a new feature— the opportunity for a voter to opt out of receiving a printed voter information pamphlet and sign up to receive it electronically. The feature provides a choice to the voter and reduces the number of printed pamphlets, which decreases election costs. The Elections Department will continue to mail printed voter guides for future elections to those who do not opt out.
“This is an exciting new tool,” Roberts said. “Staff in both Elections and IST departments worked really hard to have the Voter Dashboard ready in time for the November 3 election. They did an outstanding job and I really appreciate it.”
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