Some disabled voters “left unable to vote”, Electoral Commission finds

Some disabled voters have reported being left unable to cast their vote, research by the Electoral Commission has found.

The watchdog's report, Elections for everyone, includes the testimonials of voters with learning and physical disabilities as well as people living with mental illness. The watchdog also spoke to a number of charities.

Among the issues raised were disabled voters not understanding wording on election forms, not knowing they could ask for a tactile voting device and problems inside the polling station such as poor lighting and lack of space.

The report did find that most were happy with registering to vote and voting at the UK parliamentary general election. However, the Commision said that “not all voters with disabilities had a good experience and some reported being left unable to cast their vote”.

It also heard that some people with a disability were unaware they could bring someone with them to the polling station to help them or that polling station staff could assist.

The Electoral Commission has made a number of recommendations. It said those running elections should:

• Make sure they understand the needs of people with disabilities so they can support them and make it easy for them to register to vote and to vote.
• Look at ways that they can make registering to vote and voting more accessible.

Political parties and candidates should meanwhile:

• Make sure election-related information they send is easy to read and released early enough that people have time to read it.
• When they publish their manifestos, make sure accessible formats are available at the same time so that everyone has enough time to understand their policy positions.

The UK’s governments should:

• Explore different ways that people with disabilities can vote so they have greater flexibility, such as a choice of polling station and day to vote on.
• Make the law clearer as to who a person with a disability is allowed to take with them into the polling station to support them in casting their vote.
• Look into ways to make election forms easier to understand.

The report will be submitted as the Electoral Commission’s response to the Minister for the Constitution’s call for evidence asking for views on how people with disabilities experience registering to vote and voting.

Sir John Holmes, Chair of the Electoral Commission, said: “It is disappointing that we continue to hear about people with disabilities being unable to vote in secret, or even turned away from a polling station. This cannot be allowed to happen in our democracy. Voters with a disability should have access to the right support to ensure they can cast their vote with confidence.

"The Commission will step up its work with the UK’s governments, disability organisations and everyone involved in running elections to ensure there are no barriers to voting.”

The Commission will consider how to strengthen the guidance and supporting resources it gives to electoral administrators and will work with accessibility groups on this.

The report can be read on the Commission’s website, along with summary versions in Easy Read, large print and audio.