Oregon Secretary of State Website Becomes More Accessible for Citizens

Leveraging extensive citizen user testing, the streamlined, restructured website content provides more efficient access to Oregonians

Oregon Secretary of State Website (Graphic: Business Wire)

SALEM, Ore.--()--Nowadays Oregonians have a lot they need to get done online. The Oregon Secretary of State’s new website at sos.oregon.gov makes doing so easier, faster and more enjoyable.

“My priority is to help Oregonians take care of business quickly and easily,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “Not only have we modernized our design for smartphones and tablets, but we have also removed barriers to Oregonians with disabilities.”

For instance, to simplify finding the agency’s many resources – whether registering to vote or licensing a business – content was reduced by 80 percent and website users’ top tasks were highlighted.

“This website redesign was accomplished at no cost to our agency through Oregon's E-Government Program with the assistance of NICUSA Inc.,” said Julie Pearson-Ruthven, chief information officer for Secretary Brown. “Our goal was to create a streamlined, user-friendly website that works anywhere, on any device.”

Some 34 usability tests with nearly 200 citizens in Salem, Portland and Eugene, OR, guided the design. Simple is good, so the interface is lightweight, resulting in fast page-load times. Citizens with poor Internet service and those on limited data plans will appreciate this feature.

About the Oregon E-Government Program

Enterprise Technology Services’ E-Government Program was established through Governor’s Office Executive Order in 2001 and is administered by the Department of Administrative Services. The Oregon Legislature further supports the Program by enacting legislation in 2011 that established an Electronic Portal Advisory Board to advance the effectiveness and delivery of new online services to the public. The Program works with Oregon government organizations to enable them to conduct state business online and improve public access to government information. http://www.oregon.gov/das/ets/egov

About NIC

NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation’s leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens and businesses across the country. The NIC family of companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

Contacts

Oregon Information Division of NICUSA, Inc.
Suzanne Jorgensen, 503-967-5519
sjorgensen@egov.com

Release Summary

Nowadays Oregonians have a lot they need to get done online. The Oregon Secretary of State’s new website at sos.oregon.gov makes doing so easier, faster and more enjoyable.

Contacts

Oregon Information Division of NICUSA, Inc.
Suzanne Jorgensen, 503-967-5519
sjorgensen@egov.com