We are not second class citizens! Crip the vote and stop taking the dis!

#CripTheVote #TakingtheDis

Yesterday, Thursday 4th May 2023, voters across England headed out to vote in the local elections. Within hours, UK disability Twitter provided photos of inaccessible voting stations and/or stories of being denied the vote.

In the evening, The Mirror released a video showing the inaccessible physical infrastructure of a polling station. Anna Morrell, the disability columnist, described how another person was needed to operate the lift, removing independence from the disabled voters. Most shockingly, there were no accessible booths available and disabled people were given 'clipboards' to mark their votes on with no privacy.

How are these equal rights?

Be it the infrastructure or refusing people on the grounds of wearing a mask or lack of photo ID - something which was vehemently campaigned against by disabled activists because it leaves disabled voters at a severe disadvantage and acts as yet another barrier - it is clear the democratic system we have in place is not up to the task of ensuring everyone's right to vote.

Many disabled people were rightly outraged at the infringement on democracy for the people who had experienced this appalling situation, but tweeters managed to find a way to twist the blame onto disabled people.

Cries of 'get a postal vote' and 'what disability?' appeared under the tweets of frustrated disabled voters. This is unacceptable and problematic behaviour.

Firstly, no disabled person needs to reveal the nature of their disability to anyone. Privacy is already a huge issue for disabled people with people openly demanding to know every last little detail of your disability, your access needs, your medical records. The list goes on.

Secondly, yes, the UK offers postal votes. I myself am fortunate enough to be registered for them, but the answer to inaccessible polling stations should not be to tell every disabled person who raises an issue to do their vote by post. We have as much right as anyone else to attend a polling station and put our ballot forward in person.

Who knows how long the postal vote will remain now that there are new photo ID rules, anyway? If it is removed, it will defranchise even more disabled people. Rather than looking at a minimal issue, the government should be addressing the accessibility issues faced by voters.

The 2023 report published by the government regarding disability participation already acknowledged the inaccessibility of polling stations. It acknowledged that many blind and partially sighted voters are unable to vote independently and needed a member of the polling station to help them vote, it stated that people who use wheelchairs and mobility aids often find the stations inaccessible. It shows that people with learning disabilities are turned away or find registering to vote too hard.

If these are known facts, what has been done?

The Elections Act 2022 amended parts of the Representations of the People Act 1983 to introduce a new requirement for Returning Officers (ROs) to provide equipment to enable or make it easier for people to vote independently and secretly. If Anna Morrell is right, this clearly wasn't followed through. A clipboard handed to disabled people is not appropriate.

The Electoral Commission even published guidance recently for 'assistance voting for disabled voters', a guidance that states that it is the responsibility of the RO to decide which arrangements and what equipment are reasonable for disabled voters to vote independently.

Disabled people are already unrepresented and less politically active compared to non-disabled people. Research suggests that disabled people have lower levels of political trust and electoral participation...but is that really surprising given the barriers disabled voters face?

We need to make change.

This country cannot call itself a democracy if its citizens do not receive equal right to vote.

Let's crip the vote, because this really is taking the dis.