ENGAGING THE UNENGAGEDElection Tools to Empower Citizens

John Webb, User Experience ResearcherThe Impacts of Civic Technology Conference • Barcelona 2016

First, what do we mean by civic engagement?

Photo: Teri Tynes, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

First, what do we mean by civic engagement?

Photo: Teri Tynes, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

• Voting and participation in elections

• Volunteering & associational life

• Signing petitions

• Reporting public problems

• Attending public meetings

• And much more...

First, what do we mean by civic engagement?

Photo: Teri Tynes, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

• Voting and participation in elections

First, what do we mean by civic engagement?

Photo: Teri Tynes, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

How can elections drive broader civic

engagement?

US citizens aren’t satisfied with democracy

Source: Gallup

Trust in Congress is falling

Source: Gallup

We are drowning in information about

our democracy

Source: CNN

Personal Attacks

The Drama

Source: The Washington Times Source: The Huffington Post

The Horse Race

Source: FiveThirtyEight

Why is Google involved in Civic Engagement?

Source: Google Trends

Civic Information needs are substantial

Source: Google Trends

But… what should Google build and

for whom?

Foundational Research: UnderstandingInterested Bystanders

http://googlepolitics.blogspot.com/2015/06/understanding-americas-interested.html

These interviews focused on two broad questions:● What motivates Americans to do things that are civic?● How do we engage the unengaged?

IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS

Findings from the interviews drove the creation of a survey that received over 2000 responses

DIGITAL SURVEYS

Interested Bystanders make up nearly half of the population

Chapman, Krontiris, and Webb (2015), “Profile CBC: Using Conjoint Analysis for Consumer Profiles”

INTERESTED BYSTANDERSIN THE UNITED STATES

48.9%

Who are Interested Bystanders?

● They are civically aware but not civically active: “I’m not top-level, but I’m not a zero.”

● They often vote in national elections but not local: “I’m not that bad, but I’m not a dude who’s going to vote in every election.”

● They are often involved in their local community: “With church, we went to a women’s homeless shelter and we cooked food.”

● They have low expectations of their own impact: “Even if I do something, will anything actually change?”

File Pudblically Available: https://goo.gl/jQd1p0

Photo: Richard HookerPhoto: Richard Hooker

Common barriers to Civic participation for Interested Bystanders

TOO BUSY,NO TIME

DON’T KNOWWHAT TO DO

I WON’T HAVEAN IMPACT

So what have we learned?

● The biggest product opportunities do not focus on activists or the apathetic

● We are not the user (if you're reading this, you're not an Interested Bystander)

● We need to connect to people’s self-interests

Primary motivations for Civic participation

PRIOR EXPERIENCE TO

DRAW UPON

CLEAR INTERESTS AT STAKE

SEEKING EMOTIONAL

FULFILLMENT

Putting it all together: Google Civics Team Mission

To increase informed engagement in democracy among Interested Bystanders

OUR MISSION

Putting it all together: Google Civics Team Mission

To increase informed engagement in democracy among Interested Bystanders

OUR MISSION

Putting it all together: Google Civics Team Mission

To increase informed engagement in democracy among Interested Bystanders

OUR MISSION

Key election use cases

● How do I register to vote?

● Who and what is on my ballot?

● What do they stand for?

● When and where do I go to vote?

● Who won the election and how does that affect me?

Search featureswe have built

to date

Common barriers point to product opportunities

We can have an impact by:

● Reducing the activation energy required to participate / helping people understand the basics of how to participate

● Helping people learn about the candidates, process & issues

● Showing the outcomes and impact of elections

Reducing the activation energy

Voter registration Voting reminder

Personalized ballot Polling place lookup

Helping people understand how to participate

Helping people learn about the candidates & issues

Enhanced candidate info Candidate’s issue stances

Helping people learn about the candidates & issues

Candidate stances on issues

Helping people learn about campaign fundraising

Campaign finance info Campaign finance info

Data source: OpenSecrets (a project of The Center for Responsive Politics)

Showing the outcomes & impact of elections

Interactive results map District level results Real-time UK results

Showing the outcomes & impact of elections

Primary results Now cardsPrimary results notification Caucus results Now cards

Showing the outcomes & impact of elections

Democratic results showing delegate count

National primary results on Google search

State primary results on Google search

High engagement of civic content on search

Primary election resultsEnhanced candidate info Candidates issue stances

Increasing informed engagement in broader

civic life among interested bystanders

OpportunitiesAhead

• Volunteering & associational life

• Signing petitions

• Reporting public problems

• Attending public meetings

• And much more...

Civic engagement is much more than voting & elections

Photo: Teri Tynes, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

There are a lot more civic journeys to explore

HOW DO I GET

INVOLVED IN ISSUES I CARE

ABOUT?

WHAT

IMPACT DO I HAVE

BY PARTICIPATING?

HOW DO I

FOLLOW WHAT THE WINNING

CANDIDATES DO NEXT?

www.googlepolitics.blogspot.com

Thank You!

jwebb@google.com