Voting rights activists and web designers alike should take a look at the Election Assistance Commission's new best practices for voter information websites.

Most of the information to be included on a website seems to be pretty obvious:

• Answers to common voter questions such as “Am I registered to vote?” and “Where do I vote?”
• A mapping service to show polling locations.
• A sample ballot that is identical to the ballot issued for the election.
• Information on the registration and voting process.

But a point later on might be easy to overlook.

• Well designed interfaces that are easy to navigate.

God bless the District of Columbia, but its Board of Elections and Ethics website is kind of a mess. I’m sure they include everything they ought to, but for the life of me, I couldn’t find information about in-person absentee voting and it took me forever to find my sample ballot. I have to imagine that if the site were designed by, say, these guys, I’d be able to find everything just fine.

Just one of the many ways in which voting can (and should) be made less cumbersome.