A visually impaired voter has spoken out about feeling “dehumanised” by the lack of accessibility when it comes to voting in a general election. Elin Williams, 27, has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that has prevented her from independently casting her vote in any election or referendum. She has always required the help of someone else to cast her vote.
On her first and only trip to a polling station, Williams faced significant barriers to accessibility and now votes by post whilst still requiring someone else to fill out her postal vote. “It makes me feel like disabled people’s vote isn’t important, like my right to vote independently and secretly isn’t respected,” she stated. “It can be a bit dehumanising to be honest.”
Research from sight loss charity RNIB Cymru reports that fewer than one in five blind voters can cast their vote independently and secretly. The Electoral Commission has said, “everyone should have the right to vote independently and in secret”. However, Williams is not alone in feeling that the UK voting system is “archaic and old fashioned” without any thought for accessibility, as described by 37-year-old Dan Thomas from Cardiff who is visually impaired to the point that he “can only see light”.
Thomas commented that he too has never been able to vote independently, and has had to rely on someone else to do so. He has described the voting system as indicating to him that he is not included in the democratic process. Thomas has called for the provision of alternatives for visually impaired voters to read the ballot paper, such as braille or audio tools.
The Electoral Commission has advised that returning officers (those responsible for running each polling station) are given comprehensive guidance on supporting disabled voters. Each polling station should “at minimum” provide a tactile voting device, a polling booth at wheelchair level, magnifiers and pencil grip. It also added that its guidance suggests it is “helpful” to provide audio devices, information in easy read or large print and hearing loops
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