Information to make voting accessible for everyone

How we make our polling stations accessible and alternative ways of voting

Access

Where we can, we book polling stations with wheelchair access and where needed temporary ramps will be available.

The ramped access may not be through the main door but through an alternative door, this will be sign posted.

If it is difficult to access the polling station, the Presiding Officer will offer to help you or might bring a ballot paper and the ballot box out to you to ensure that you can vote.

All polling stations have a low-level polling booth suitable for use with a wheelchair.

Voting Aids

Large print versions of ballot papers are available at every polling station.

The large print version can be used as reference, but you must still cast your vote on a standard print ballot paper.
At every station there is an aid known as a tactile voting device which is to help blind or visually impaired voters to vote without assistance.

You can also use your phone or other forms of assistive technology into the polling booth to help you vote.

Posters with instructions on how to vote will be at every polling station and in every polling booth.

Magnifying aids are available at every polling station.

Pencil grips will be available.

Support at the polling station

If you have a disability and you need support to complete a ballot paper, you can take a companion to the polling station to assist you.

The person who helps you can be anyone over the age of 18.

Before helping you, they must complete a simple companion declaration form that the Presiding Officer will give them.

The Presiding Officer at the polling station can also help you fill in your ballot paper. The Presiding Officer is legally bound by the Requirement of Secrecy and your vote will remain secret. In the privacy of the polling booth tell the presiding officer which candidate you want to vote for and they can mark the ballot paper on your behalf.