Individual Electoral Reform: Form design research

The Electoral Commission contracted Ipsos to conduct research into the design and content of the registration forms for Individual Electoral Registration (IER), the new method of electoral registration, which requires every individual to register themselves using a new form. Individual Electoral Registration will be implemented across Great Britain prior to the 2015 General Election.

This phase of the research focussed mainly on the design and format of the new Household Enquiry Forms (HEF) and Individual Electoral Registration (IER) forms, and what impact, if any, it has on the successful completion of the form. This phase of the research follows two previous phases (in autumn 2012 and summer 2013) testing content and design. The forms tested in this phase have been created taking into account findings from this previous research.

The specific aims of this research phase were:

• To examine how the layout of the new design helps (or hinders) people to fill out electoral registration forms

• To measure how these forms are interpreted in their blank and “pre-populated” formats

• To determine which form works “best”. In this context this means ensuring comprehension and accurate completion from all who are required to fill them out

Download full report here (PDF)