Local Election Website Template Informational Webinar
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On November 18, Whitney and Kurt share information about CTCL's local election website template. Over the course of the webinar they tell a brief background of the project and discuss different website training options.
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Local Election Website Template Informational Webinar
- 1. Local Election Website Template A website designed with the voter in mind Informational Webinar Wednesday, November 18 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT
- 2. Webinar basics • To cut down on distractions and background noise, everyone is muted. • At the end we’ll have a Q&A, but if you have a question along the way, use the chat function to ask questions. You can click the “talk bubble” icon on the right side of your screen to do that. • If your computer sound isn’t working, call (510) 365-3332 to get the webinar audio (access code 150-143-734).
- 3. Webinar agenda 1. Introduction 2. Election website template: origin story 3. Website training options 4. Website editing demo 5. Testimonials 6. Q & A
- 4. Webinar organizers Whitney May Director of Government Services whitney@techandciviclife.org Kurt Sampsel Government Services Associate kurt@techandciviclife.org
- 5. LOCAL ELECTION WEBSITE TEMPLATE ORIGIN STORY Let’s start from the beginning:
- 9. Mercer County, West Virginia Nearly 40,000 registered voters
- 11. Before After
- 13. CTCL’S ELECTION WEBSITE TRAINING PROGRAM Introducing:
- 14. 9 Jurisdictions
- 15. All participants receive: • Website assessment • Website guidelines and recommendations • Website creation • Website user guide • Certificate of completion • Press release • Ongoing check-ins with CTCL
- 16. 3 Options • Self-paced online course • Online workshop • In-person training
- 18. Online Workshop
- 20. ELECTION WEBSITE TEMPLATE DEMO Look under the hood:
- 21. Testimonials
- 22. WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEMPLATE AND TRAINING? Q & A:
- 23. Email Whitney: whitney@techandciviclife.org Email Kurt: kurt@techandciviclife.org Visit the CTCL website: www.techandciviclife.org/website-trainings
Editor's Notes
- Some folks may be familiar with how the election website template came to be a thing, but to make sure we are all on the same page today, we are going to begin with brief recap of how we got here.
- The internet is amazing. When we have a question, one of the first places we look for answers is online. People are increasingly looking online for civic information. And research indicates that people are more likely to look for critical civic information on county government sites rather than state sites. Unfortunately, too many county election offices have no website at all, and those that do are often plagued by outdated information.
- In 2013, the Center for Civic Design found that over 900 counties in the U.S. did not have an election website. That is 1 out of 3 counties with no election information online. This number does not include the counties that have websites that are difficult to navigate or websites that have out-of-date information.
- We know that many local government offices aren’t publishing their information online. Why is that? Is the technology too expensive? Is it something else? We started the ELECTricity program around the same time that CCD’s research was published. We kicked off our program by going on a listening tour. For eight months we didn't build anything, we hit the road to visit local election election administrators and ask them two questions: 1. What innovations are you most proud of? 2. What pain points do you wish you could improve through technology or other means?
- We talked with nearly 100 administrators during that time - about 70 at conferences and 20 through visits to their offices. When we met with Marie Hill and Kathy Lambert in Mercer County, WV, they were really excited about their new voting machines and how the new machines made election night so much more efficient for their office and for their poll workers. And when we asked them about their biggest challenges, they said they really wished they had a website where they could post all of their information, including those really fast election results.
- That conversation was all we needed to start building something. In 2014 we built an election website template, based on the research from the Center for Civic Design, for election officials like Marie and Kat. With funding from the Democracy Fund, we were able to pilot the website template in 5 jurisdictions, to see if this was something that could scale beyond one election office. The five pilot jurisdictions were, starting at the top left and going across: Mercer County, WV Takoma Park, MD Carroll County, OH Inyo County, CA Hardeman County, TN And now Kurt’s going to talk a little more about the template and the training
- [KURT STARTS HERE] Along with the template, we created a written user guide that any election can follow, regardless of their background in technology. Then, to get the websites off the ground in each of the pilot jurisdictions, we spent 2-3 days at each of the offices where we followed the user guide and coached election officials on website fundamentals, writing in plain language, and standardizing data in spreadsheets. This is a screenshot of the Inyo County election website before using the template and after using the template. You may notice a couple of important features of the template: The content is strategic. The information emphasized on the site is what research tells us voters care about the most: ballot information, election results, and important election dates. So the template prioritizes this information for you. The design is simple. It’s is plain with lots of white space and minimal graphics, fonts, and images. Like with the content highlighted, this is no accident. Simple design means it’s easy for your readers to navigate, it means pages load quickly -- which is especially critical in places with slower internet speeds – and it means that the site works beautifully on mobile devices.
- The five pilot websites are going strong. Collectively, the 5 sites have been viewed over 71,000 times. Based on the success of the pilot phase, we are expanding the training opportunities so more election officials can learn how to use our template and build a website that their office is proud of.
- At this time I want to turn our attention to the trainings that we offer. We feel strongly that just making a website template isn’t enough – that it’s important also to provide local election officials with the support they need to build the website themselves and customize it. They gain valuable tech skills, and voters in their community get a higher degree of public service, helping to promote civic engagement.
- So far, 9 jurisdictions have completed the training – these are our original pilot jurisdictions plus some new offices that have joined them. And two more election offices are in the process of getting started. As you can see, these jurisdictions span our entire nation, and they include small jurisdictions like Carroll County, Ohio as well as large ones like Sedgwick County, Kansas, with a population is about half a million people. We’re proud of this diversity because we feel it shows the versatility and robustness of our template.
- We offer three types of training, based on your learning style. We will discuss each type in more detail in a moment, but first we want to stress what the trainings have in common. Each training participant, regardless of the type of training, receives our core services. These include: [READ ABOVE] By the end of the training, you have an election website with a modern look and feel and the skills to keep the website updated.
- The training option you select will depend on your needs, your staff, and your resources. Most important to consider are your level of comfort with technology, your schedule, and the amount of support you think you’ll need.
- Do you feel pretty confident using the internet to learn new technology? Do you appreciate the convenience of taking a class online at your own pace? If so, the self-paced course may be your best training option. An independent, online study, the course is comprised of 40 quick lessons featuring 5-minute video tutorials that walk you through website building step-by-step. The course can be completed as quickly or as slowly as your schedule allows. The cost is just $99.
- For folks who might need or want a little more support, you can work with us in real time. Do you like learning with a small group? Are you comfortable following instructions with remote tech support? If so, the online workshop might be your best option. The workshop spans 3 days: one full day of instruction and two half-days of instruction. We have two workshops coming up in the next couple of months: December 2-4 and January 12-14. Consider joining us! The cost is $699 per office.
- Finally, we offer in-person training at your election office. This option provides the most comprehensive support. Do you like the personal touch of face-to-face instruction? Do you anticipate wanting additional support to get your website up and running? If that’s you, we believe the in-person training is a good fit. We will travel to your office and coach you and your staff for 2-3 days. After the training, we are available by phone or email to answer any of your questions about the template. This option is priced at $2,500.
- You’ve probably heard us stressing how easy the website template is to set up and how easy it is to update your website content. Those things are what we like the most about the template, because we feel they empower election officials to take charge of their own communication efforts. So, for the next few minutes we want to show you exactly how easy it is to use demonstrating some of the things you can do with the site. After the demo we will have time to answer any questions you may have. Here we go! [PLAY CLIP]
- By now you’ve gotten a sense of what the template has to offer, you’ve heard about the trainings, and you’ve seen a demonstration of how easy it is to make the website fit your needs. But we also want you to hear from election officials who have actually used it. First up we have an audio testimonial from Kathy Lambert – who you can see in the picture here – from Mercer County, West Virginia. [PLAY CLIP] ADD QUOTATION FROM SOMEONE ELSE?
- At this point we’re ready to field any questions you might have about the template, the training options, or anything else we’ve talked about today. So, what questions do you have about it? If you want to ask a question, raise your hand, and then we’ll call on you and unmute you and you can speak. If your sound doesn’t end up working, don’t worry – just click the “talk bubble” icon and type your question into chat.