Access to polling stations

We have undertaken a review of all Polling Station venues, and is making every effort to ensure these venues are accessible to all.

 

 

Feedback with regard to difficulties faced by people with impairments when voting would be appreciated and can be done by contacting the Access Officer or by filling in an online feedback form.

 

Polls Apart - campaigning for accessible democracy

 

In the early 1990s Scope was contacted by a number of disabled people who had had difficulty voting. Their local polling stations were inaccessible and although they had complained to their local council nothing seemed to change.

 

To counter this, Scope in 1992 launched Polls Apart. The campaign focused on getting as much evidence as possible on the accessibility of polling stations throughout England and Wales. The results were startling. Over 90% of all polling stations were inaccessible in some way.

 

At every General Election since 1992 we have repeated the survey. We have worked with politicians, electoral administrators and other organisations with an interest in democracy to try to improve access. Changes to legislation have helped, as disabled people are now protected in law from discrimination. Many local authorities have also taken on board the need to run accessible elections. But it is slow progress. At the 2001 General Election 66% of polling stations in Wales were still inaccessible.

 

If you would like to join the Polls Apart campaign, you can enter your details at the Polls Apart website