Proposed website redesign for the Howard County Maryland Board of Elections website, http://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments.aspx?id=4294968268. Presentation delivered to Dr. Kathryn Summers at the University of Baltimore in her Information Architecture class at the end of the spring 2012 semester.

1. Howard County Board of Elections:
Website Redesign
Prepared by Jennifer Dellava, Nicole Kerber, Melda Washington
IDIA 630 | Dr. Kathryn Summers | University of Baltimore
May 9, 2012

2. Agenda
Introduction
• Howard County Statistics
• Major Goals of Howard County Website Users
• Personas Summary
Methodology
• Web Analytics
• Content Inventory
• Card Sort Overview

3. Agenda (cont.)
Recommendations
• Proposed Information Architecture
• Sitemap
Deliverables
• Wireframes
• Process Flows
• Personas/Scenarios

4. INTRODUCTION

5. Howard County

6. Howard County Statistics
Population: 287,085
Population increase from 2000 to 2010:
15.8%
People under 18: 26%
People over 65: 10.1%
Female: 51%
Race:
• 62.2% White
• 17.5% Black
• 5.8% Hispanic or Latino

7. Howard County Statistics (cont.)
Speak at least two languages at home:
21.4%
High school graduates: 94.6%
Bachelor’s degree or higher: 58.3%
Homeowners: 74.7%
Veterans: 19,332
Median household income: $103,273
Square miles: 250.4
People per square mile: 1,144.9

8. Major Goals
Voters
• Register to vote, verify registration, or modify
registration record
• Identify poll locations and hours of operation
• Obtain information about special needs
voting, absentee voting, provisional voting, etc.
• View election calendar
• Learn about candidates
• Obtain information about getting involved in
election events in the community

9. Major Goals (cont.)
Candidates
• Obtain information about running for office
including campaign funding
• View election calendar with deadlines
• Learn about election community events
Researchers
• Research previous election results
• Learn about the Board of Elections

10. Personas Summary
Kellie Yates Yvonne McIntyre Peter Samuels Frank Miller
First Time Voter Disabled Senior Absentee Voter Board Member
I registered to vote at the I’m going to get out there It’s important for me to The idea of an election is
age of 16 and can’t wait to and make my gray vote exercise my more interesting than the
finally cast my first ballot count! rights, especially my right election itself...The act of
in the 2012 Election! to vote, when I am voting is the defining
Occupation: Retired, glass overseas. moment.
Occupation: Student artist
Age: 19 Age: 62 Occupation: Mechanical Occupation: Director of
Goals: Find her polling Goals: Find out when the Engineer and Solder the Board of Elections
place location, poll closing polls are the least Age: 26 Age: 40
time, what to bring, and crowded, parking Goals: Submit a vote as an Goals: Maintain and
information about availability, and how the absentee voter from update election
candidates. voting equipment works. overseas. information.

11. METHODOLOGY

12. Web Analytics

13. Content Inventory

14. Content Inventory (cont.)
Navigation problems
• Primary navigation consists of Board of
Elections, Highlights, and In This Section
o These categories are vague; it’s not clear what
information the user can find in each category
o All pages/departments use this navigation scheme
because the site uses a Content Management
System
o This navigation is located on the right side of the
screen
• Navigation at the bottom uses indistinct icons
with no text

15. Content Inventory (cont.)
• Navigation on the left side is not related to the
Board of Elections
Organizational problems
• Pages are labeled differently from page to page
• The same information resides in several different
parts of the site
General Observations
• Broken links
• Outdated content

16. Card Sort Overview
Category Participants Total items Unique items Agreement
About Board of
31 197 27 0.24
Elections
Community
31 160 22 0.23
Outreach
Election Central 31 282 32 0.28
FAQ's 29 145 31 0.16
For Candidates 30 113 24 0.16
For Voters 31 250 24 0.34

17. Card Sort Overview (cont.)

18. Card Sort Overview (cont.)
Election Law, Rules, and Regulations
Vote By Mail/Absentee Voting
Board Members/Leadership
Voting in Howard County
Current Election Results
Election Results History
Meetings and Agendas
Candidate Information
Voter Complaint Form
Public Records Policy
How to Get Involved
General Information
Elections Calendar
Campaign Finance
Mission and Goals
Provisional Voting
Election Calendar
Polling Locations
Voter Info Guide
Election Officials
News and Alerts
Register to Vote
Voting Districts
Election Judge
Notary Public
Ballot Issues
Poll Workers
Social Media
Just for Kids
View Ballots
Contact Us
Petitions
Careers
Reports
This table shows the % of times each
Events
Press
Filing
item was placed with every other
item
Events - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meetings and Agendas 48 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Press 35 23 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to Get Involved 39 10 19 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Just for Kids 52 19 42 61 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Social Media 48 19 35 48 71 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notary Public 29 19 16 10 16 19 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Careers 23 35 29 26 19 26 32 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contact Us 19 23 23 16 6 13 23 42 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Information 10 19 19 6 6 13 29 35 45 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Board Members/Leadership 19 42 23 3 . 3 16 45 55 52 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mission and Goals 23 39 19 3 . 3 19 45 52 58 84 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Public Records Policy 3 13 26 10 10 13 23 39 16 26 16 19 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 13 16 10 3 6 13 26 10 26 13 13 42 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Election Law, Rules, and Regulations
Election Judge 16 26 13 3 3 3 32 16 23 19 39 26 16 35 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Election Officials 29 39 19 . . 3 16 13 23 19 45 42 10 32 55 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
News and Alerts 39 23 29 26 26 35 26 23 19 26 16 16 6 16 19 26 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elections Calendar 13 26 16 10 6 16 16 6 19 19 10 6 6 35 35 29 32 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Election Calendar 19 26 10 10 3 10 23 16 13 16 6 3 16 39 45 32 35 55 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19. Card Sort Overview (cont.)
Election Law, Rules, and Regulations
Vote By Mail/Absentee Voting
Board Members/Leadership
Voting in Howard County
Current Election Results
Election Results History
Meetings and Agendas
Candidate Information
Voter Complaint Form
Public Records Policy
How to Get Involved
General Information
Elections Calendar
Campaign Finance
Mission and Goals
Provisional Voting
Election Calendar
Polling Locations
Voter Info Guide
Election Officials
News and Alerts
Register to Vote
Voting Districts
Election Judge
Notary Public
Ballot Issues
Poll Workers
Social Media
Just for Kids
View Ballots
Contact Us
Petitions
Careers
Reports
This table shows the % of times each
Events
Press
Filing
item was placed with every other
item
Current Election Results 16 26 23 3 3 6 16 6 13 23 6 6 19 32 39 32 45 61 65 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Election Results History 16 23 16 10 . 10 19 13 13 13 3 3 19 42 39 35 35 58 65 74 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reports 16 45 29 10 10 10 26 26 23 23 32 29 19 23 29 32 32 32 26 35 32 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Poll Workers 16 10 23 26 26 19 35 13 3 23 3 6 19 26 32 16 32 32 35 39 35 26 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Petitions 13 19 19 19 19 19 26 13 16 23 6 6 29 29 23 10 26 35 26 29 29 39 45 - . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Candidate Information 10 13 10 . 3 . 13 . 3 6 . 6 10 13 10 23 16 13 23 23 16 6 16 23 - . . . . . . . . . . . .
Filing 16 26 13 . 6 10 26 6 6 10 . 3 29 26 16 19 10 23 26 26 19 35 26 32 29 - . . . . . . . . . . .
Campaign Finance 10 16 19 . 3 10 19 3 . 3 . 6 19 19 6 13 6 3 10 6 10 6 13 26 42 48 - . . . . . . . . . .
Ballot Issues 3 6 10 6 . 6 10 16 16 13 6 . 29 19 16 10 6 19 19 23 29 19 16 19 23 10 10 - . . . . . . . . .
Voting in Howard County 3 . 6 6 6 6 6 3 13 13 6 3 6 23 10 6 16 13 13 6 6 10 13 13 29 10 . 23 - . . . . . . . .
Polling Locations . . . . 3 3 10 . 3 6 . . 3 16 3 6 10 19 10 6 6 3 10 13 35 3 . 29 68 - . . . . . . .
Provisional Voting 6 . . 6 3 . 19 . 3 3 . . 6 13 6 6 6 13 3 3 6 . 6 13 29 3 3 35 58 74 - . . . . . .
Voter Info Guide . . . 3 3 . 10 3 3 6 . . 10 13 . 3 3 10 3 . 3 . 3 13 32 3 . 35 55 71 71 - . . . . .
Vote By Mail/Absentee Voting . . 3 10 6 . 6 . 3 6 3 . 6 13 3 3 3 6 6 3 . 3 3 6 29 3 . 39 58 71 81 77 - . . . .
Voter Complaint Form . . . 10 3 . 10 3 3 . 3 . . 6 3 6 3 10 6 . 6 3 3 13 29 . . 42 55 71 77 81 84 - . . .
Register to Vote 3 3 6 3 6 3 10 3 3 6 3 . . 6 3 3 6 6 6 . 3 3 6 3 35 3 . 39 68 68 71 77 84 81 - . .
Voting Districts 3 10 13 6 . 3 16 3 6 13 3 . 10 35 13 19 23 39 26 32 35 16 19 19 29 19 3 19 45 55 48 42 39 42 39 - .
View Ballots 10 6 10 6 6 3 19 3 6 13 3 . 6 32 13 16 19 35 29 39 35 19 19 26 32 10 6 32 45 55 48 42 48 45 42 48 -

20. RECOMMENDATIONS

21. Proposed Information Architecture
Label Changes
• About the Board of Elections
• For Voters
• For Candidates
• Election Information
• Community Outreach
Primary navigation
• Moved to left column
• Slide down to reveal more specific sub-
categories

22. Proposed IA (cont.)
Reorganization of Content
• Rename several content pages
• Distribute existing content to appropriate areas
• Remove content pages:

23. Proposed IA (cont.)
Utility Updates
• Header
o Search bar moved under utility links
• Footer
o Add search bar
o Remove View FAQs

24. Sitemap

25. DELIVERABLES

26. Wireframes
Homepage
Highlights
Improved navigation and organization
Moved search box under utilities
Important features and tasks now highlighted on
right rail

28. Wireframes (cont.)
Header
1. Howard County image logo
2. Branding of homepage with name of site
3. Notify Me Howard sign-up box
4. Utility navigation
5. Site-wide search
6. Main navigation bar

29. Wireframes (cont.)
Footer
7. Contact us information
8. Copyright, sitemap, privacy policy, and terms of
use footer links
9. Site-wide navigation footer links
10.Social media links
11.Site-wide search

30. Wireframes (cont.)
Homepage: Content Details
1. Content box
2. Register to vote
box
3. Find your polling
place box
4. Check status of
absentee ballot
box
5. View Candidates
box

31. Wireframes (cont.)
Content Page: Find Your Polling Location
1. Enter home address
2. Google maps
3. Download PDF
document

32. Wireframes (cont.)
Content Page: Meet The Candidates
1. Candidate
information page
2. Photo of candidate
3. Link to view full
profile

33. Wireframes (cont.)
Content Page: Election Calendar
1. Filter calendar by
2. Interactive Google
Calendar

34. Wireframes (cont.)
Content Page: Reports
1. Select which option fits
your needs
2. Reports generated
below buttons

35. Process Flow: Kellie

36. Process Flow: Yvonne

37. Process Flow: Peter

38. Process Flow: Frank

39. QUESTIONS?

40. Persona/Scenario: Kellie
Kellie Yates, First Time voter
Age: 19
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Education: Obtaining B.S. in Political Science, Towson University
Profession: Full-time Student
Personal Background
Kellie Yates is 19-year-old college student at Towson University who grew up in Maryland. Her major is
Political Science, and she is also earning a minor in Communications. Her family is very politically
involved. Kellie is a member of the Debate Team, and she was the Junior and Senior Class President at
her high school. One day, Kellie hopes to work in the White House.
Kellie is also very computer savvy and has many devices that allow her to connect to the Internet at
any time of day. She has an Apple iPhone, MacBook and iPad. She particularly enjoys using her iPhone;
she is always using it to communicate with her family, friends, and classmates. She is a healthy, active
teenager, but within the past two years, she has developed mobility and fine motor issues that resemble
arthritis. She can operate controls and buttons if they aren’t too small, but she gets frustrated when
trying to use applications that don’t allow her to zoom in or increase the text or page size.

41. Persona/Scenario: Kellie (cont.)
Goals
Kellie received her provisional voting card at the age of 16 and sheis excited to vote for the first time in the
Howard County 2012 Elections. She needs to know a few important details for election day. She already
knows that she will be on campus the day of the election, which makes her nervous because the drive home
will be at least an hour, depending on traffic. Also, she’s working a group project for class, so she doesn’t
know what time she’ll be able to leave campus. She’s excited to be a part of the election process, but
first, she needs to be prepared with the following information:
 Where her polling place is located
 The latest possible time she is able to vote
 If she needs to bring anything with her to vote
 Last minute candidate information because she wants to be confident in her decision
Scenario:
Kellie has the Howard County Board of Elections website bookmarked on her iPhone. She visits the site for
about ten minutes at least two or three times a month during the election season to be aware of news and
alerts and to read updated candidate information as it becomes available. She has not read the finer details
for voters because those details were not important to her until now. Kellie is in group meetings all day on
election day, and she only has a few minutes in between meetings to go on her iPhone to get the information
she needs. She goes to the homepage, clicks on For Voters from the primary navigation bar, clicks on Voting
in Howard Countyin the sub-menu and then clicks on Polling Locations to find out her closest polling
location, address, and times of operation. Next, she clicks on Voter Guide to see if there is anything she
needs to bring with her to vote. Finally, she clicks on Information About Candidates under For Voters on the
primary navigation bar to read last minute updates about the candidates.

42. Persona/Scenario: Yvonne
Yvonne McIntyre
General Info
Age: 62
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Education: B.S. Sociology, University of Maryland
Profession: Retired, glass artist
Personal Background
Yvonne is a 62-year-old disabled woman who was born and raised in Howard County. She attended the
University of Maryland where she received a B.S. in Sociology with a minor in Art. She has one 40-year-
old son who lives with his wife and their five-year-old son. Yvonne is a retired insurance agent and is
currently fulfilling her dream of being a glass artist. She had scoliosis surgery two years ago and
sometimes her back still hurts. Regularly, Yvonne drives a Prius and a Ford Explorer. Both cars have
handicapped stickers. She is not too mobile and walking a long distance or standing for a long period of
time hurts her back. She also suffers from a bit of arthritis pain in her joints.
Yvonne is Internet-capable. She goes online a few times a week to post her glass art on Facebook and
to sell her work on eBay. She makes online purchases, mostly products for her art. She uses her phone
to text family and friends and to email them invitations to her shows. She has a chow named
Sheba, who travels with her everywhere.

43. Persona/Scenario: Yvonne (cont.)
Goals
Yvonne is a registered Democrat and has voted in every election since she was 18. Now, with her health
issues, she feels that she has more at stake. She is especially motivated to vote because some of the hot
topics are disability and medical benefits. She is concerned for her future. Yvonne needs the following
information:
 When the polls are the least crowded, making it more convenient for her to vote
 Available accommodations for voters with special needs, specifically accessibility of parking
 How the voting equipment operates
Scenario:
Yvonne performs a Google search for the Howard County Board of Elections. She scans the homepage and
clicks on For Voters on the primary navigation bar. She needs information specific to Howard County polling
facilities, so she clicks on Voting in Howard County.From there, she visits the Voter Guide, Special Needs
Voting, and Voting Equipment pages to find all the information she needs.

44. Persona/Scenario: Peter
Peter Samuels
General Info
Age: 26
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, US Army
Profession: Mechanical Engineer and Soldier
Personal Background
Peter Samuels and his wife, Rebecca, are both registered Republicans and were both raised in Howard
County. The two were high school sweethearts and dreamed of starting a family together for a long
time. Peter enlisted in the US Army shortly after high school graduation because he had little interest in
college and his family did not have money to send him. He went to boot camp, returned home, and
proposed to Rebecca. A few weeks later, he left for his first tour in Iraq. He and Rebecca were married
the following year when he returned home. Peter was able to stick around long enough to witness the
birth of his baby girl, Cecilia, before receiving orders for his next tour. He is in Afghanistan for 18
months this time.
Peter is a Mechanical Engineer and designs communications transit cases for Ground Mobility Vehicles.
He works well with his hands but is not particularly savvy when it comes to the Internet. He describes
himself as an average user. Before he was deployed, he used the Internet only for basic searches via
Google. His family did not have a computer when he was growing up and he is not completely confident
in his Internet navigating abilities. He still prefers to read newspapers and write letters by hand. The
time he can spend online while on the Army base is extremely limited. The connection is slow and
frustrating. He works long hours and there is always a line to use the Internet.

45. Persona/Scenario: Peter (cont.)
Goals
Peter is deployed in Afghanistan and has limited access to the Internet. He knows that the 2012 election is
approaching and he wants to make sure his vote is submitted in time. He also is not sure who he should vote
for because this information is not advertised or readily available through media outlets overseas. He wants
to access this information quickly and easily because his time online is limited and the connection is slow.
Peter needs the following information:
 How to submit a vote as an absentee voter
 When the deadline is to submit an absentee vote
 Information about the current candidates
Scenario:
One evening, after working 11 hours for the fifth day in a row, Peter waits for his turn at one of the
computers at the Army base. He uses Google to find the Howard County Board of Elections website. Peter
scans the homepage and sees For Voters on the primary navigation. He hovers over it and a list of additional
links slides down. Peter sees Voting by Mail/Absentee Voting in the sub-menu and clicks on it. From this
page, he sees exactly what he is looking for, Military and Overseas Voters. He clicks on this link and sees all
the information he needs to submit his ballot. The deadline is clearly marked at the top of the page. He still
needs information about the candidates, so he hovers over the For Voters link on the primary navigation
again and clicks on Information about Candidates.

46. Persona/Scenario: Frank
Frank Miller
General Info
Age: 40
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Education: B.A. Business Administration, University of Maryland
Profession: Director of Howard County Board of Elections
Personal Background
Frank is a 40-year-old husband and father of three children, ages 14, 7, and 4. He was born in Howard
County and attended the University of Maryland, where he received a B.A. in Business Administration.
His wife, Anne, is a stay-at-home mother who also attended the University of Maryland, where she
received a degree in History. Frank has been an employee of the Howard County Board of Elections for
the past ten years. He began as an intern right out of college and continued to climb the ladder all the
way to the position of Director. He is consistently commended for his hard work and dedication.

47. Persona/Scenario: Frank (cont.)
Goals
Frank knows he needs to prepare for the upcoming election. Some of responsibilities as Director include filing
records and reports pertaining to ballot issues, developing an annual budget, directing the activities of the
Information Technology Department, and maintaining online information, education, and outreach. Frank
needs to ensure that everyone involved in the upcoming election has all the information they need to be
prepared. This information needs to be continuously updated and maintained. Frank accesses the site to
perform the following:
 Maintain and update election information
 Ballot issues
 Elections calendar
 News and alerts
 Information for election workers
Scenario:
In preparation of the election, Frank needs to review all online information related to the upcoming 2012
elections. He goes to the Howard County Board of Elections homepage, which is saved as a favorite on his
desktop. He selects Election Information from the primary navigation. He then clicks on Ballot Issues from
the sub-menu and reviews this page’s content, looking for any changes that need to be made. Then he clicks
on Election Calendarwhere he changes a deadline and adds a community event. He clicks on News &
Alerts, which needs to be updated daily, and enters the daily stories. Finally, Frank clicks on Election Workers
to verify that the feedback form available to volunteers is the most current version and that all other
information for current and prospective poll workers is up-to-date.