Local authorities
Scope recognises the good will that exists within local government on improving access to democracy.
There’s still time to find temporary ramps, order information in accessible formats or train staff. After all, most polling stations are community buildings and should be accessible to everyone anyway.
We look forward to working with you to make sure the 2010 elections are as accessible as possible.
To assist you we have created an access checklist for electoral administrators
Duties on local authorities
The Disability Equality Duty 2005 places a duty on public authorities to encourage participation by disabled people in public life
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 includes a duty to conduct regular reviews of polling stations to ensure they are as accessible as possible to disabled people.
Scope have submitted Freedom of Information Requests to get the details of local authority polling station reviews to every local authority in the UK. To see responses, use the constituency search on the home page.
We expect these developments to result in significant improvements to disabled voters’ experiences but are keen to work with local authorities to share information and ideas about how to address the most persistent barriers.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland elections are administered by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
The Chief Electoral Officer in Northern Ireland has written to those living in areas where it is known that a polling station is not accessible. This gives you an opportunity to choose another polling station (in your area) to vote at. For further information please visit www.eoni.org.uk
Are you an election administrator for a local authority? Let us know about the accessibility of your polling stations
Take the election accessibility pledge
At the 2005 General Election 68% of polling stations had one or more serious access barriers that could prevent a disabled person from voting independently and in secret.
In 2010 let’s make sure that all disabled people that want to vote can vote.