Thousands will not be able to vote in GE2020 on Saturday, expert warns
Thousands of people will not vote on Saturday because they cannot – whether due to disability, illiteracy, infirmity or because they have never been shown how to, a voter inclusion expert warns., social inclusion officer with Monaghan County Council and member of the disability advisory council with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, says there is a “huge hidden cohort of people” not voting because they can’t access their right.
“Low literacy is a hugely private issue,” she says, though it can be widespread, especially among older people. She believes many thousands of people with intellectual disabilities do not vote because they have not been supported to register to vote.Polling station staff, or a “polling companion” can help a person to vote, including helping them fill in the ballot paper.
All polling stations should be wheelchair accessible; should prominently display a large poster-size version of the constituency’s ballot paper for visually impaired people to use as a guide; tactile ballot-papers for the visually impaired, a low polling booth for wheelchair users, extra seating for frail or tired people to rest, and a ballot-box accessible to wheelchair users.
She is lucky she says to have a personal assistant, with 12 hours’ cover a day. “They are very hard to get. That is one of the major issues for people who want to vote but don’t have a PA to get them to the polling station. Then when they do they may not [be able to] physically access the booth.
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