Blind journalist unable to vote independently in local elections

Those living with sight loss are still unable to vote independently, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has emphasised.

Selina Mills, a journalist, was forced to allow her husband to fill in her ballot paper whilst attempting to cast her vote in the local elections in Central London yesterday (7 May).

Mills explained that she was not allowed to take a large print ballot paper for reference into the polling booth with her – something that she should have been allowed to do as a reasonable adjustment.

Mills was attempting to cast her vote in England’s local elections in Pimlico, in the borough of Westminster.

She explained that she was offered a raised tactile frame, which she was unable to use, and braille, which she does not read.

After complaining to the presiding officer, Mills was eventually able to vote – but only with her husband’s help.

This is not an acceptable solution, Mills has emphasised.

“I was told that I could not have access to a private vote, other than with my husband, because there were no accessible voting forms available,” she said.

Mills added: “While the staff were kind and sympathetic, there was absolutely no way I could vote without my husband who I trust and love – but we do actually have different political views – so I’ve just voted and I hope he has ticked the boxes I asked him to.”

Voters have had the legal right to mark their ballot papers independently and in secret for more than 150 years, but in reality this often does not extend to those with visual impairments, the RNIB said.

The need for accessible voting solutions to be proactively identified by both the Government and the Electoral Commission is something that the charity has been campaigning on for a number of years.

There are still “significant barriers to voting independently” for the 320,000 people in England who are registered blind or partially sighted, Tom Skelton, RNIB’s policy lead, said.

Skelton said: “Selina’s experience of not being able to vote independently as a partially sighted person is not uncommon.

“Returning officers and local electoral services teams have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to remove substantial disadvantage and to provide a voting experience as close as possible to that experienced by sighted voters.”

As part of its work on the issue, the RNIB has helped to test devices that offer ways for blind and partially sighted people to vote independently.

The charity recommends the McGonagle Reader, a combined audio-tactile device, the best solution currently available.

Poor training of polling station staff is often the issue that blind and partially sighted people face, the RNIB believes.

Skelton added: “Voting remains a fundamentally visual exercise. Solutions with audio and tactile elements do exist but are not widely available, with people with sight loss often having to proactively request these from local electoral officials, who will then consider if they can obtain them or not.”

He emphasised: “Without the right equipment, many blind and partially sighted people are forced to rely on others to mark their ballot in the way they wish, compromising their privacy and dignity. That simply isn’t good enough in a modern democracy.

“We have heard from blind voters that they have often had to make their choices out loud, robbing them of their secret vote, leading to discomfort and uncertainty about whether their vote was cast as intended. Some have opted out of voting altogether due to these issues.”