I'm crowning Elections Alberta the kings of confusion

Bureaucracy gone wild as the writ is dropped and Elections Alberta drops the ball on explaining how to vote

As a descendant of Scottish settlers, I am grateful to be producing this newsletter in Moh’kinsstis, and the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. I understand that this territory is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, I recognize that the land I work and live on was stolen from these nations and I have been afforded privileges as a result. I support giving the land back. 

Wow, just read through the Elections Alberta voting package I received via snail mail. I’m a little late opening the package and several others have already written about this but I am still shocked at how bad it is.

Absolutely misleading, confusing and definitely not following communication or design best practices.

The first message a person reads is what they’ll remember. Readership drops off substantially as more information is presented. Even if they do read through to the end, the cognitive load on the reader grows with each additional message. It’s unlikely they will understand or remember a large amount of information.

In this mailer, the main message is clearly “Be ready for the May 2023 Provincial General Election - Register to vote or update your voter information today.”

What follows is information about how to register to vote prior to the election. 

Then, to drive home the point, there’s a strong directive “The voters list: Get on it (the last three words are even in BOLD)

That is the full first page. Nowhere on the entire page does it make it clear that you absolutely DO NOT have to register in advance to vote in this election.

That brings us to page two of the mailer, which begins with a message from the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta. Again, the message is “Register and vote” and there is no mention of the fact the reader can register on the day of the election. 

Finally, near the end of the last page, below the CEO's message, the 2nd to last paragraph lets the reader know they can JUST SHOW UP AND VOTE on election day. 

**You don't even need to do any of the steps we outlined in painful detail.**

The message around this easy option is one of discouragement - “the voting process will take longer as you will complete your registration steps first before being issued a ballot.” Those registration steps are not explained, nor is there any indication of how much longer it will take.

The mailer also includes a six-page booklet with the same, repeated messaging - register in advance to vote. 

And oh, this booklet…

There is only one line in the entire booklet (buried under the unrelated heading “Only have a PO Box or other mailing address”?) where it says “If you are not registered with your mailing address when you go to vote, you will need to show ID with your physical address.” There is a full page with the definitive title “REGISTER BEFORE ELECTION DAY” explaining this process.

Now, I can understand the desire to encourage people to register in advance for voting. That is any bureaucrat’s dream.

It makes their lives easier and relieves a lot of the pressure off them on election day. But it’s not focused on the voter and making things easier for them.

It’s also not encouraging people to get out and vote in large numbers. It should be about making it easy for people to vote. This should not be about making life easier for the bureaucrats.

In the spirit of offering solutions, I’d suggest Elections Alberta use different language to describe the ways to vote.

To explain the early registration options, “Advance registration” and “Voting Day registration” would be clearer. Ultimately though, this is all bureaucratic worriment and should not be the primary concern.

The primary message should be about how easy it is to vote - including information on how to just show up and vote if you meet the three requirements - citizenship, 18+ years old, and a resident of Alberta. The options for voting are really "Easy and Easier." Stick to those basics.