EASY VOTER GUIDE
With help from local Leagues, 1.8 million copies of the Easy Voter Guide were distributed throughout California for the October 7 election. In the evaluations returned to LWVC from League members there was good information about how the Guide was used. In addition, there were a few comments from members who felt that its literacy level was too low. Susan Clark, founder and director of the Easy Voter Guide Project, provides the following relevant information:
Some League members are distressed about the "dumbing down" of this voter education material. The mission of the Easy Voter Guide Project is to provide user-friendly nonpartisan information for new voters and busy voters. The project began 10 years ago when adult literacy students in library-based reading programs felt that the official ballot pamphlet was a de facto literacy test. They wanted to create access to nonpartisan information about what was on the ballot.
The Easy Voter Guide is now available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. Adult literacy students continue to play a critical role in ensuring the guide uses "layperson" language and the guide's user-based design process is a central aspect of its popularity.
These are a few thoughts for you to consider: Over 40% of California adults read at an 8th grade level or less. For some, it is a function of English not being their first language. For others, it is a case of poor educational opportunities and/or learning challenges such as dyslexia. For those of us who are voracious readers and print-based in our critical thinking styles, it is hard to understand how people who are not skilled readers make complex decisions.
People who have less linguistic intelligence than the typical League member instead draw on other types of intelligence to weigh difficult trade-offs. My personal experience has been to observe the adult literacy students and other community members we work with who demonstrate tremendous capacity to appreciate the multi-faceted nature of issues, tolerate ambiguity, and make thoughtful choices.
The California Secretary of State's office has become the primary funder of the Easy Voter Guide because the Easy Voter Guide supports two key mandates embedded in the new HAVA legislation: voter's rights and access. Every voter has a right to nonpartisan information about what is on the ballot in accessible language. As a major collaborator on this project, Leagues have an opportunity to use these free guides to enhance their voter service activities.
--The League of Women Voters of California
