>>In Florida, the ballots and directions are published in the newspaper weeks before the election. As well, sample ballots are sent to each registered voter along with instructions and requirements. There is also contact information should you have questions. I don't know how much more proactive the local Elections folks can get. On that note, our local Supervisor of Elections, Ion Sancho, did an outstanding job. Not that he'll ever see the praise here :-)
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>Seems to me that when I was a kid, there was a sample, scaled-down, voting machine at the polls that you could use to practice on. I don't remember seeing one at my polling place anytime recently. (Since I voted absentee this time, it's been since April that I was at the polls.)
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>Certainly having such a thing universally would be a good start.
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>Tamar

Yes, I think that's what we used in high school during Government class my senior year. Few of us were of voting age and it was a Presidential election year (Sorry... not divulging which year!). Rather than disenfranchise those of us who were eligibility-challenged ;), we used the scaled down version to practice.