Voting and what you need to know
The right to vote independently, and in secret, is a cornerstone of our democracy.
Yet blind and partially sighted people continue to face unacceptable barriers to exercising their democratic right to vote.
A legal case in 2019 found provisions to support blind and partially sighted people to vote were unlawful. Since then, we have been working directly with the Cabinet Office to find new ways to ensure blind and partially sighted people can vote independently.
This May, in some areas of Norfolk we’ve been testing a new system where voters can use an audio player with a tactile voting device to place their vote independently. so we need you to take part in our survey below if you voted, or tried to place your vote, as this will help us compare experiences in different places.
Tell us about your voting experience
If you’re blind or partially sighted and voted, or tried to vote, in the elections, please take our survey and let us know how it went.
Our England Local Elections Manifesto
Having the support of local councillors ensures that the interests of blind and partially sighted people are represented in local government. This year, we're calling on local government representatives to:
Ensure that vision rehabilitation services are fit for purpose
Provide council information to blind and partially sighted residents in a format they can read
Give children with vision impairment the best start in life
Ensure blind and partially sighted people can travel independently
Make democracy accessible by ensuring all polling stations and polling information is accessible.
Turned Out Reports: Access to voting for people with sight loss
Since 2015, we have surveyed blind and partially sighted voters after Local, General and European elections to find out about their experiences. They have continued to report that they face unacceptable barriers to exercising their democratic right to vote in secret.
Read the Turned Out reports