General Election ‘Well Run’ – but what about Access?
This May’s UK Parliamentary and English local elections were ‘well run’ in the vast majority of constituencies, according to a new report by the Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog – despite disability campaigners’ concerns that accessibility remained little improved since five or 10 years previously.
The Commission nevertheless recommended the development of a ‘comprehensive electoral modernization strategy’ to ensure voter confidence was maintained for future elections – with recommendations including the lengthening of the electoral timetable and improving voting opportunities for Services personnel and overseas voters.
The Chair of The Electoral Commission, Jenny Watson, said: “We are lucky to have inherited a trust based system from previous generations. But this cannot endure forever. The basic building blocks of electoral administration need long-term support and reform in order to ensure that voters can be sure that their vote counts. Voter confidence is fragile and may take time to re-build after high profile problems like the ones experienced at some polling stations at 10pm.”
According to the report, the Commission believed that ‘the vast majority’ of polling stations across the UK were accessible. “This meant disabled entrances were well signposted with usable ramps in place, low polling booths were available for wheelchair users, and large-print ballot papers and tactile voting devices were available for voters with visual impairments. We are also aware that many electoral services managers have been more proactive in including access issues as part of their polling station staff training.”
Although the Commission’s report recognised the findings of the latest accessibility survey by Scope, which found that one in three polling stations had been fully accessible, they focused on the fact that just one in four polling stations had ‘missed the basic accessibility criteria by one feature’ – despite this still potentially making voting extremely difficult or impossible for many disabled people.
Head of Policy at Scope, Marc Bush, was disappointed by the report. “This report does not go far enough in its recommendations to improve access for disabled voters – many of whom faced significant barriers at the last General Election, such as poor or no access for wheelchair users,” he said.
“Research by Scope showed that more than two thirds of polling stations surveyed failed a basic accessibility test,” he added. “There is a pressing need to expand voting options to increase access to voting by offering alternative methods such as online voting. Unless this happens disabled people will continue to struggle to exercise their right to vote in future elections.”
The report also reiterates the Commission’s urgent call for the Government to change the law as soon as possible to make sure voters who are queuing at polling stations at 10pm are able to vote at all future elections.
