UK Government responds to consultation on the accessibility of elections
Last year, the UK Government launched a Call for Evidence, asking for views on how disabled people experience registering to vote and voting. 256 responses were received and the Government has now published its findings, including a list of 17 actions to be taken forward.
The main response relating to people with sight loss came jointly from RNIB and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, and the findings include a section on the issues faced by people with a vision impairment. The actions to be taken include more effective training of polling centre staff, and the provision of ballot papers in large print. You can read a summary of the recommendations on the Disability Rights website, which also has a link to the full document.
This consultation exercise related to elections under control of the UK Government, and it will be for the devolved administrations to consider if the changes should apply to those polls that are devolved.
Posted on the 3rd of September 2018