Labour Call For Electoral Fairness For Visually Impaired

The Labour party has called on the Government to make provisions for the visually impaired during future elections.

Their spokesperson on Disability Issues and Equality, Kathleen Lynch, called on the environment Minister John Gormley to make changed so the blind and visually impaired can vote independently and in secret at the next general election.

"Currently, a person who is blind or vision impaired is forced, either to bring along a "trusted friend" or to request the assistance of a returning officer, to fill in the ballot paper when they go along to cast their vote," Ms Lynch said.

She added: "This is simply unacceptable, because everybody, regardless of what disability they may have, has the right to cast their vote in secret."

Ms Lynch pointed out solutions currently in operation elsewhere around the world such as "tactile templates", featuring Braille and large print, which are already in use in places like the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

In the UK, all polling stations provide a tactile voting device and at least one large print display version of the ballot paper under the Discrimination Act, making it easier to vote without another person's help.

The blind or visually impaired can also ask polling station staff to read the list of candidates and their details. A Braille version of the electoral identity card is also made available under their disability laws.

Ms Lynch went on to say: "Solutions based on such a system need not be expensive to implement and I believe they should be put in place in time for the next general election, whenever that might be.

"I have put a question on this to Environment Minister John Gormley and look forward to getting his reply in the Dail."

(DW/BMcC)