Parker Estes Capstone Process Book

PARKER ESTES

PROCESS BOOK

PROJECT PROPOSAL

MISSISSIPPI VOTER REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION NONPROFIT research proposal/ art 444/ senior project Parker Estes INTRODUCTION Only 59.7% of Mississippians voted in the 2020 general election. While this is relatively high voter turnout for the state, it is still 6.6% behind the national average and the 5th lowest in the nation. There are currently no organizations working statewide in Mississippi to improve this despite the recent success of nonprofits such as Fair Fight Action in Georgia and Move Texas. In my research I will seek to understand and demonstrate how design can be used to inform individuals of their choices on election day and persuade them to engage in the electoral process.

SUB PROBLEMS The IRS has strict rules around what nonprofits can and cannot do and say regarding elections. Understanding and working within these limitations will be critical to the viability of the final product.

RESEARCH GOALS * To study the history and symbology of voter advocacy organizations, activist groups, and political campaigns in the state of Mississippi to understand how they differ from those in other states.

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To understand the limitations of nonprofits on political action and how to design a viable brand within those boundaries.

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To design a brand that pays tribute to the visual language of Mississippi’s political history, but that utilizes modern design trends to appeal to young adult audiences that tend to represent a disproportionate subset of the voter eligible population.

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To create effective visual communication that can inform and educate audiences about the electoral process, their choices on election day, and how to get their friends and family involved. Additionally, to create materials that can be used to supplement training of organizational volunteers.

TIMELINE Present - Feb 16 • begin paper • determine name • style guide • digital sketches of deliverables

Feb 16 - Mar 16 • finalize paper • develop market ready deliverables • Adjust brand per first committee meeting

Mar 16 - Apr 6 • make final adjustments to deliverables per second committee meeting • final presentation

CONCLUSION A relative lack of organized voter advocacy with the state of Mississippi demonstrates a need for more efficacious organizing which brings with it a demand for effective visual communication. The unique constraints of designing for a political non profit as well as the rich visual history of American electoral activism will provide ample resources by which to develop research and branding in this area.

RESEARCH PAPER

University of Southern Mississippi

Barriers to Voting for College Students and Graphic Design Solutions

Parker Estes ART 448 John Mark Lawler March 25, 2021

2 Who votes in America? While the answer to this question is constantly in flux, it is generally considered to be common knowledge in any era of American politics that young people of voting age are less likely to participate civically and politically than their older counterparts.

According to data compiled by the United States Census Bureau, eligible voters ages 18 to 29 voted at a rate of only 46% in the 2016 general election compared to the age group most likely to vote—ages 65 and older—who voted at a rate of 71% in that same year. This disparity has remained relatively constant going back as far as the 1980 general election and is even further divided along racial lines. (File).

Voting is important. The right to vote is defined in Article I of the United States Constitution and the results of elections can have dramatic consequences. One of the primary topics of debate in the 2020 democratic primary was college debt relief. Additionally, elections often feature ballot measures, a form of direct democracy specific to states or counties that can have a much more direct effect on the day-to-day lives of residents of a locality than the election of representatives. Examples of these include ballot measure 1 in Mississippi which proposed legalization of medical marijuana for qualified individuals or proposition 22 in California which determined the labor classification of “app-based delivery drivers” as either employees or independent contractors (Ballotpedia).

So why don’t more young people engage with the political process? College students face many personal and structural barriers to participating in elections and other areas of civic life.

This paper will explore the nature of those barriers, what measures have historically been employed to overcome them, and how modern design solutions can be used to facilitate ease of access to channels of political and civic participation and to excite college-age voters to engage with those channels.

3 1. Barriers to voting for college-age students.

Many theories exist as to why more college students don’t vote, ranging from apathy to students making an active decision not to participate in the voting process. Recent research conducted by Tisch College at Tufts University shows that young people tend to have strong opinions on issues, and a greater percentage of them either plan to vote or plan to volunteer for political campaigns (Tufts). Yet, it remains true that this does not reliably translate to actual voter participation. If apathy is not the problem what is standing in the way of these potential voters from participating in elections?

One explanation may be that people ages 18 to 34 are more likely to distrust the political process, however, this alone does not necessarily translate to a lack of participation. While this age group is more likely to express distrust, they are no more likely to cite it as a reason why they did not vote than any other age group. The answer is that young people are far more likely to experience structural barriers to voting. Polling conducted by Ipsos for FiveThirtyEight found that in the 2018 midterms, 22% of young people polled signaled intent to vote, but were ultimately unable to do so. Some of the reasons cited were long lines, an inability to take time off of work, missing registration deadlines, an inability to locate their polling place, not receiving an absentee ballot in time, and invalid voter ID. In all of these cases, young people were more likely to experience the stated barrier than older age groups (Thomson-DeVeaux).

Some explanations as to why the effects of these barriers are more potent for college students is intuitive. Many students attend colleges or universities outside of the communities they grew up in and may find it more difficult to locate polling places in unfamiliar areas especially if pressed for time. Some of these same students may not have a fixed address, meaning that they are reliant upon absentee voting, a process that can be far more

4 time-consuming than voting in person. Students who are employed are more likely to work part-time for hourly wages meaning that taking time off to vote might not always be an option.

Some of these barriers however may have more structural or institutional causes. In some cases, voter suppression efforts have been employed by state legislatures to make it more difficult for college students to participate in the process.

Many states have complicated and restrictive voter ID laws that can make registering to vote more difficult especially for those from low-income families. These voter ID laws are often selectively restrictive, considering some forms of photo ID valid for voter registration and not others. One notable example, the state of Texas’s voter ID law entirely prohibits the use of student IDs for voter registration and only allows the use of out-of-state driver’s licenses after applicants have filled out an additional form explaining why they could not acquire another form of valid identification. Tennessee’s voter ID laws are even more restrictive, not accepting either student ID or out-of-state driver’s licenses as valid forms of identification. Texas and Tennessee happen to rank 50th and 51st in voter turnout among the 50 states and District of Columbia.

Those enacting these legislations often state that they are taking measures to curb voter fraud, however, many election experts argue that the outcomes have a far greater effect on restricting access to the polls than preventing fraudulent ballots from being cast (Wines).

One of the most explicit examples of voter suppression targeted at college students in the past decade comes from New Hampshire. Roughly 60% of college students in the state of New Hampshire come from out of state. This rate is one of the highest in the nation. According to reporting by the New York Times, a recent law enacted by the state’s legislature requires, “newly registered voters who drive to establish ‘domicile’ in the state.” Establishing “domicile” entails acquiring an in-state driver’s license as well as in-state auto registrations, a process that can be

5 both expensive and time-consuming. In 2011, New Hampshire’s state Republican house speaker, “promised to clamp down on unrestricted voting by students, calling them ‘kids voting liberal, voting their feelings, with no life experience (Wines).’” While data does suggest that young people are more likely on average to vote for the democratic party candidate in presidential general elections, it is hard to see this as anything other than an attempt to suppress the vote of a specific demographic regardless of their party affiliation (Thomson-DeVeaux).

2. Historic solutions to improving youth voter turnout.

One solution that has been shown to increase voter turnout among young people, especially in the context of an election year is pre-registration (Holbein 378). Pre-registration policies vary from state to state, but for the most part, allow individuals to register to vote before their 18th birthday if it falls on or before the date of the next general election. For example, in the state of Mississippi, if an individual turns 17 on October 15, 2019, they can register to vote for the November 2, 2020 general election any time during that year. The obvious benefit to this is that a subset of 1st-semester college students particularly are not forced to register in a small window between their 18th birthday and the general election (Mississippi Secretary of State).

A study published in the American Journal of Political Science shows that unlike other policies targeted at youth voters, pre-registration laws are proportionally beneficial along party lines and are consistently beneficial across all race and gender demographic subgroups. One sample from the study looked at pre-registration outcomes in several counties in Florida in the 2 years before the 2008 presidential election and found that pre-registration significantly increased the likelihood that young people would vote, especially among those who registered in the 12 months leading up to the general election. Additionally, it found that pairing these pre-registration policies with in-class demonstrations of the voting process by either faculty or

6 county officials had an even greater effect on the likelihood to vote (Holbein 373). While pre-registration policies are an encouraging solution to the problem of youth voter turnout, they are unlikely to mitigate any of the effects caused as a function of students attending out-of-state colleges and universities.

Another potential solution is to provide educational opportunities on the logistical aspects of the voting process. Depending on the state, voting can seem like—and sometimes be—a complicated process. Many states do not offer online registration. This combined with restrictive voter ID laws, a lack of knowledge on all the issues, and navigating an unfamiliar city to locate a polling place could make voting seem like a tall mountain to climb for someone who has never participated in the process before. An article written by two researchers from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University outlines a few key deficits in education about the voting process and provides some solutions to address them.

In a survey of students from low-income backgrounds conducted for the article, the researchers found that 20% of the students expressed a lack of confidence in knowledge of the voting process and a lack of confidence in adequate knowledge of the candidates and issues.

These fears are not entirely unfounded as ballot initiatives in particular are often written with intentionally vague or complicated language. One other area highlighted by the researchers is a lack of knowledge about voter eligibility. For many reasons students may believe that they are ineligible to vote, including previous interactions with the criminal justice system, a recent change in residency, or even age. These assumptions however are not always correct, and having access to a credible source of information on eligibility or any of these topics is critical for young people’s confidence in their ability to participate in the political process (Kawashima-Ginsberg).

7 A lack of accurate information is not always as easy to fix as a quick google search.

Many official government websites which an individual could reasonably intuit as a credible source for voter information are difficult to navigate and can sometimes provide conflicting information. As an example, while conducting research for this paper, I contacted someone at the Forrest County Circuit Clerk’s Office to inquire about the eligibility of 17-year-old individuals to pre-register for elections in Mississippi. They explained that in Mississippi, individuals are only eligible to register after their 18th birthday. This conflicted with my earlier research so I reached out to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office—the division of state governments that oversees elections—who verified my previous findings that 17-year-old individuals are eligible to register if they turn 18 years of age in the year before a federal election. While this is anecdotal evidence, it serves the larger point made by the researchers from Tufts University that misconceptions about voter eligibility are easy to develop and a young person already lacking confidence about their knowledge or eligibility might not take that extra step of going one more rung up the ladder to find accurate information (Kawashima-Ginsberg).

Eliciting and then capitalizing on the emotions of prospective voters has long been a strategy employed by campaign advisors for the benefit of one candidate or another, but can this tactic also be used to drive people to the polls regardless of their party affiliation? Thus a third potential solution to the problem of low voter turnout among young people. In a study published in the American Journal of Political Science, political scientist Ted Brader conducts an experimental analysis of political ads to discover what effect specific emotions have on voting behavior—of particular interest, how, “cueing enthusiasm motivates participation and activates existing loyalties (Brader 388).” The result of his research finds that the utilization of imagery and music meant to illicit enthusiasm does not necessarily motivate individuals to take action,

8 but when paired with positive messaging it can motivate audiences along the lines of preexisting beliefs and can change the way that audiences process the information delivered (Brader 402).

Taking into consideration research explored in the previous section of this paper, projecting enthusiasm could be a powerful tool in motivating young voters of college-age to overcome these barriers and participate in the voting process.

3. How modern design solutions can be used to motivate young college voters.

To recap, college-age voters generally have strong opinions on the candidates and issues of an election but are frequently demotivated or prevented from participating in the voting process by a lack of confidence in their knowledge of the issues or by structural barriers such as restrictive voter ID laws, an inability to access accurate information or facilities, or outright voter suppression. Possible solutions to these problems include early voter registration, education on the logistics of the voting process and voter eligibility, and cueing enthusiasm to motivate participation. So, how can modern design solutions and graphic design principles be applied to achieve the above-stated goals in the development of a branded identity for a nonprofit organization seeking to register college-age voters and increase participation in upcoming elections?

One of the first decisions to be made in the development of an identity system is how color will be used to effectively communicate the brand identity. Since one of the stated goals is to cue enthusiasm, some exploration into color psychology is warranted. Additionally, since non-profit organizations are prohibited by law from favoring one candidate or group of candidates over another, the traditional blues and reds that have a strong cultural association with the Democrat and Republican parties respectively might best be avoided (IRS).

9 In his book, The Art of Color and Design, writer and painter Maitland Graves delineates warm colors, particularly yellows and reds as evoking excitement and also notes that reds and yellows are most likely to stand out in an outdoor setting (Graves 404). If a brand is to project enthusiasm, warm tones may be the obvious choice. Secondary cool tones can be used to introduce a complementary interaction and offset any negative associations that the stronger warm colors may hold. Additionally, these colors have an analogous relationship to those colors with strong associations to the main political parties—Republican and Democrat—without evoking those specific associations.

Another important consideration in the development of a brand identity is a brand mark.

Brand marks can take many forms but are most often composed of a logographic or pictographic element and a wordmark and is used as the core piece of visual identification for a brand. A brand mark should be distinct, recognizable, and communicate the core ideas of a brand in a glance. When encountering a new brand mark for the first time, an individual will first process its overall shape, followed by color, and thirdly more complex forms (Wheeler 50). Some notable examples of brand marks are the Nike swoosh or the McDonald’s golden arches. When considering how to develop a brand mark for an organization concerned with voter participation, certain iconography such as checkmarks and ballots have become so ubiquitous as to be almost universally associated with the voting process, at least to American audiences.

Typography is also frequently an important aspect of a successful brand mark. Many widely recognized brands such as Apple and Google have developed their own proprietary typefaces for use exclusively within their respective brands. While clarity and readability are important in the selection of a typeface, typography can also be an important tool in establishing the distinct personality of a brand (Wheeler 154). Bold sans serif fonts are commonly associated

10 with modern design and may be appropriate for a brand targeting college students, however, aesthetic preferences are constantly changing.

In the current age of technology a website is an incredibly important touchpoint between an audience and a brand, especially if one of the core purposes of that brand is to provide information. To address the concerns outlined in the previous section about the availability of accurate and reliable sources of information on the voting process, a website for such a brand should be easy to navigate and provide clear and concise instructions on how and where to register to vote, the location of polling places, the contents of ballots specific to localities, what constitutes a valid form of identification in a given state, and any other important information an individual might need to know to engage with the voting process. It is also important that a website be easily accessible and optimized for use on mobile devices. Sometimes called responsive design, websites that are designed to be viewed on multiple screen sizes have become increasingly important as the primary method of consumption for web-based content has moved from computers to mobile devices. This shift is especially true among young people and college students (Wheeler 73).

One final and perhaps the most important consideration is how this brand might interact with voters in their day-to-day lives and provide advocacy for voter participation as opposed to being a passive resource. While providing information is important, as covered in the previous section, information alone is not enough to facilitate voter participation. One of the key ways that many nonprofit organizations around the country actively involve voters in the process is by holding voter registration drives on college campuses. This means developing signage, print material, integrations with social media and websites, and facilitating community organizing across all of these different platforms.

11 4. Conclusion Despite an increase in overall voter turnout and an increase in political polarization, young people ages 18-29 remain the least likely demographic age group to participate in elections, and by a wide margin. They face a myriad of challenges when attempting to engage with the political process, ranging from a lack of confidence in their knowledge of the issues to ignorance of voter eligibility requirements and structural barriers to voting that often causes even those with strong convictions to forgo making their voice heard.

While this disparity in participation may seem like a forgone conclusion, voter participation among young people is on the rise. Though it follows the trend of a more broad increase in voter turnout, it remains to be seen whether that trend is correlated or if those individuals are starting to realize that they do have a voice in politics. Interesting solutions are being proposed all across the country, such as pre-registration as a method to increase voter turnout among younger age groups. Organizations like the ACLU are fighting to oppose legislation designed to make it more difficult for specific demographic groups to access the polls.

These are often the same organizations that are working to register voters on college campuses across the country. Organizations such as Rockthevote and Headcount are working to increase enthusiasm among young voters through popular media. If young people voted at the same rate as older adults, it would reshape the political landscape of any state in the country.

In all of these areas, the field of graphic design will continue to play a critical role in designing visual systems that facilitate ease of access to important channels of information, developing brands that generate excitement and enthusiasm, and bridging the gap between visual communication and taking action.

12 References Ballotpedia. “2020 Ballot Measures.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/2020_ballot_measures.

Brader, Ted. “Striking a Responsive Chord: How Political Ads Motivate and Persuade Voters by Appealing to Emotions.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 49, no. 2, 2005, pp. 388–405. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3647684. Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.

File, Thom. “Voting in America: A Look at the 2016 Presidential Election.” The United States Census Bureau, 10 May 2017, www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2017/05/voting_in_america.html.

Graves, Maitland E. The Art of Color and Design. 2d ed., McGraw-Hill, 1951.

Holbein, John B., and D. Sunshine Hillygus. “Making Young Voters: The Impact of Preregistration on Youth Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 60, no. 2, 2016, pp. 364–382., www.jstor.org/stable/24877627. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021.

IRS. “The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations.”

Internal Revenue Service, www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/the-restriction-of-political-campaign-interv ention-by-section-501c3-tax-exempt-organizations.

Kawashima-Ginsberg, Kei, and Abby Kiesa. “Getting Young People to Vote: Seven Tips for the Classroom.”

Social Education, vol. 83, no. 4, 2019, pp. 194–199.

Mississippi Secretary of State. "Mississippi Voter Information Guide 2020." Fact sheet. Jackson, Mississippi, n.d. Web. Thomson-DeVeaux, Amelia, et al. “Why Younger Americans Don't Vote More Often (*No, It's Not Apathy).”

FiveThirtyEight, FiveThirtyEight, 30 Oct. 2020, fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-younger-americans-dont-vote-more-often-no-its-not-apathy/.

Tufts. “Dispelling Myths about Youth Voting.” Circle at Tufts, circle.tufts.edu/understanding-youth-civic-engagement/dispelling-myths-about-youth-voting#myth:-y oung-people-just-choose-not-to-vote.

13 References Wheeler, Alina. Designing Brand Identity : An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team. Vol. Fourth edition, Wiley, 2012. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=493706&site=ehost-live.

Wines, Michael. “The Student Vote Is Surging. So Are Efforts to Suppress It.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/voting-college-suppression.html.

BRAND IDENTITY

AUDIENCE College Students

GOALS Register Voters Provide Information Demystify Voting

EARLY INSPIRATION

BRAND MARK SKETCHES

DIGITAL SKETCHES

FINAL BRAND MARK

SECONDARY MARKS

COLORS AND PATTERNS

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TYPOGRAPHY

BUSINESS SUITE

PRINT SAMPLE BALLOT

STICKERS

SOCIAL MEDIA APPLICATION

LANYARD & TAG

BUTTONS

TENT THUMBNAILS

TENT FINAL

A-FRAME SIGN

MERCH

WEBSITE

WEBSITE EARLY WIREFRAMES

EARLY MOCKUPS

FINAL WEBSITE

THANK YOU!