Abstract
This study investigates whether a "values-matching" decision aid improves the quality of vote choice in Participatory Budgeting (PB). While PB empowers residents to allocate public funds, the cognitive complexity of the ballot can lead to decision fatigue or choices that misalign with voters' core priorities. Building on the work of Sherlock et al. (2025) in The Effects of Decision Aids on Voting, we conduct a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) integrated into the digital voting platform during the 2025 Durham PB cycle.
Participants in the treatment group utilize an "Index Fund" tool, which allows them to allocate tokens across abstract value categories (e.g., Equity, Safety, Environment). The interface then highlights projects that align with these weights via a "value-match score". We assess whether this mechanism increases deliberation (dwell time), improves self-reported decision satisfaction, and strengthens the correlation between voters’ stated values and their final project selections. Finally, I will present a design for a proposed experiment in Jersey to illustrate how these decision-aid principles can be adapted to other legislative contexts.