Evaluating Ballot Design in the 2024 General Election: A Review of Sample Ballots

A healthy, well-functioning democracy depends on every voter having equal and effective access to the ballot. Science has shown that poorly designed ballots create significant barriers to effective participation, leading to thousands of uncounted votes each election, with ballot design flaws disproportionately affecting Black, Hispanic, low-income, and older voters. To assess the state of ballot usability, we analyzed eight counties’ 2024 sample ballots from select jurisdictions in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania using 10 equitable ballot design recommendations established in an earlier study. We find that no county achieved a perfect score, with the highest-scoring ballot following about 70 percent of the recommendations. This highlights considerable room for improvement in ballot clarity and usability. Although election administrators must navigate considerable constraints to certain elements of ballot design, many choices can be made at their discretion to enhance accessibility. Our findings reinforce the need for continued analysis.