Voting with a disability or sight problem
Anyone who’s eligible to vote on polling day should be able to do so in a confident manner. Polling station staff are trained to provide assistance to any voter who asks for it in the following ways:
You can ask for help in marking the ballot paper for you. The Presiding Officer at the polling station can help with this; or bring a close family member who’s over 18 to help you vote; or someone else such as a support worker as long as they are entitled to vote in the election themselves.
A tactile voting device has a sticky backing, which attaches on top of your ballot paper, so if you are visually impaired you can mark the ballot paper in secret. It has numbered lift up flaps (the numbers are raised and in braille) directly over the boxes where you mark your vote.
A large print reference copy of the ballot paper should be clearly displayed in the polling station in a well-lit area. There is also an enlarged hand-held copy of the ballot paper marked ‘sample’ which you can take into the polling booth for reference. You must still mark your vote on the official ballot paper not the large print reference copy.
Assistance to gain access to the polling station We have aimed to make sure all our polling stations are located in fully accessible buildings. Unfortunately, in practice, this may not always be possible. If you cannot access the polling station, the presiding officer may take the ballot paper to you. After you have marked your ballot paper, the Presiding Officer will place your ballot paper into the ballot box.