2010 report
At the 2010 election, we asked people to tell us about the accessibility of their voting experience. Over a thousand people did just that and we have used this feedback as the basis for our report.
What did we find out?
- There were accessibility barriers at 67% of polling stations surveyed. That’s an improvement of only 1% on the last general election, and just 2% on the election before.
- 47% people who told us about their postal voting experience reported accessibility issues.
- In some ways, things got worse: in 2005 70% of polling stations had large ballot papers on display, but this dropped to only 49% in 2010.
What needs to be done?
- The current system for voting is inflexible and limited, and whilst good guidance is available it’s often not properly implemented – local authorities need to do more to improve accessibility
- For all disabled people to vote independently and in secret, real change is needed – a wider range of voting options should be available, including online voting.
- Greater representation of disabled people in public life needs to be supported and would have a positive impact on the whole system.
