Disabled voters
A variety of support is available for disabled voters at polling stations. Please ask the polling station team for help if you need it, this can include in the polling booth as you vote.
Equipment in each polling station will include a magnifier, tactile voting device to help blind and partially sighted voters, a large-print ballot paper to refer to, and pencil grips for voters with dexterity issues.
If you are disabled, you can also bring your own equipment to the polling station to help you vote. This includes apps on phones or other equipment to magnify or read out ballot papers.
You can also bring a companion with you to the polling station to help you cast your vote:
- Anyone over the age of 18 can help you cast your vote. They don’t need to be eligible to vote in this election.
- Any companion who helps you to mark your ballot paper must fill in a declaration form in the polling station.
- A companion can help up to two voters at the same election.
Assistance animals are welcome in polling stations.
Polling station staff cannot exclude a registered elector or proxy elector from voting on the grounds of disability or mental capacity.
We do our best to only use venues with full accessibility, but unfortunately, some polling stations can be difficult to access for voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility issues. Where this is an issue, a Presiding Officer can bring a ballot paper outside to a voter and will then put it into the ballot box on the voter’s behalf.
The My Vote My Voice campaign has different information available to support and encourage voters with learning disabilities and autism to vote