This Council Meeting notes the report “Elections for everyone: Experiences of people with disabilities at the 8 June 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election”, published by the Electoral Commission, which looks at registering to vote and voting from the view of someone with a disability, and which calls for the following to help make elections more accessible for everyone:
· There should be no barriers to voting for people with a disability;
· Everyone should have a right to vote on their own and in secret;
· People with disabilities need to know that they can vote and can have support to vote;
· Care and support workers need to know how they can support the people the care for when they vote;
· People running elections need to understand the needs of people with disabilities so they can support them and make it easy for them to register to vote and to vote;
· Candidates and parties should make sure information is in easy to read formats and available in good time before the election so people have the time to read it;
· Manifestos in accessible formats should be published at the same time as the original version so that people with a disability have as much time as anyone else to understand what the parties stand for; and
· The government should look at different ways that people with disabilities can vote so that they have greater flexibility and choice.
This Council Meeting further notes the specific problems faced by those with a sight impairment, as highlighted in the report “Turned Out 2017: Why the UK voting system must change so blind and partially sighted voters can be in sole control of their right to a secret ballot”, published by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, which calls for:
· Replacement of the current Tactile Voting Device (TVD) with a new accessible voting system that guarantees blind and partially sighted voters can review the candidates on the ballot paper themselves, reliably find and mark their chosen candidate on the official ballot paper and be in sole control of the secrecy of their vote without any assistance;
· Guarantee all blind and partially sighted voters can get their legal right to vote without any assistance and in secret by eradicating the current breakdowns in the system, empowering blind and partially sighted people to vote on the same terms as everyone else, and changing the culture of accessible voting from routinely intervening to assist blind and partially sighted voters to not having to assist; and
· By the 2022 General Election, to provide an online and/or telephone option for blind and partially sighted people to cast their vote independently and in secret if they aren’t able to vote at their polling station.
This Council Meeting recognises the recent call for evidence made by the Cabinet Office, seeking to support the government’s commitment to ensure the electoral system is accessible to all electors, which closed in November 2017, and looks forward to the consequent report due in Spring 2018.
This Council Meeting believes it is fundamental to democracy that everyone who is entitled to vote can register to vote and actually cast their vote secretly, regardless of any disability, and that national and local government should do all it can to ensure that any barriers preventing this are removed.
This Council Meeting therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:
· Conduct a thorough review of this council’s electoral registration and voting processes in liaison with Stockport Disability Forum, with a view to identify and remove all barriers to voter registration and voting which are within this council’s power;
· To specifically include a detailed review of all polling stations and voting equipment; and
· Report to the Cabinet Office any changes in official guidance, procedures or legislation which may be needed to remove those barriers that we do not currently have the power or ability to remove, acknowledging that this will be after publication of the report of the current Cabinet Office enquiry but should still be able to influence any emerging changes in policy).
Moved by: Councillor Laura Booth
Seconded by: Councillor Chris Gordon
Minutes:
RESOLVED - This Council Meeting notes the report “Elections for everyone: Experiences of people with disabilities at the 8 June 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election”, published by the Electoral Commission, which looks at registering to vote and voting from the view of someone with a disability, and which calls for the following to help make elections more accessible for everyone:
· There should be no barriers to voting for people with a disability;
· Everyone should have a right to vote on their own and in secret;
· People with disabilities need to know that they can vote and can have support to vote;
· Care and support workers need to know how they can support the people the care for when they vote;
· People running elections need to understand the needs of people with disabilities so they can support them and make it easy for them to register to vote and to vote;
· Candidates and parties should make sure information is in easy to read formats and available in good time before the election so people have the time to read it;
· Manifestos in accessible formats should be published at the same time as the original version so that people with a disability have as much time as anyone else to understand what the parties stand for; and
· The government should look at different ways that people with disabilities can vote so that they have greater flexibility and choice.
This Council Meeting further notes the specific problems faced by those with a sight impairment, as highlighted in the report “Turned Out 2017: Why the UK voting system must change so blind and partially sighted voters can be in sole control of their right to a secret ballot”, published by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, which calls for:
· Replacement of the current Tactile Voting Device (TVD) with a new accessible voting system that guarantees blind and partially sighted voters can review the candidates on the ballot paper themselves, reliably find and mark their chosen candidate on the official ballot paper and be in sole control of the secrecy of their vote without any assistance;
· Guarantee all blind and partially sighted voters can get their legal right to vote without any assistance and in secret by eradicating the current breakdowns in the system, empowering blind and partially sighted people to vote on the same terms as everyone else, and changing the culture of accessible voting from routinely intervening to assist blind and partially sighted voters to not having to assist; and
· By the 2022 General Election, to provide an online and/or telephone option for blind and partially sighted people to cast their vote independently and in secret if they aren’t able to vote at their polling station.
This Council Meeting recognises the recent call for evidence made by the Cabinet Office, seeking to support the government’s commitment to ensure the electoral system is accessible to all electors, which closed in November 2017, and looks forward to the consequent report due in Spring 2018.
This Council Meeting believes it is fundamental to democracy that everyone who is entitled to vote can register to vote and actually cast their vote secretly, regardless of any disability, and that national and local government should do all it can to ensure that any barriers preventing this are removed.
This Council Meeting therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:
· Conduct a thorough review of this council’s electoral registration and voting processes in liaison with Stockport Disability Forum, with a view to identify and remove all barriers to voter registration and voting which are within this council’s power;
· To specifically include a detailed review of all polling stations and voting equipment; and
· Report to the Cabinet Office any changes in official guidance, procedures or legislation which may be needed to remove those barriers that we do not currently have the power or ability to remove, acknowledging that this will be after publication of the report of the current Cabinet Office enquiry but should still be able to influence any emerging changes in policy).