New voting aid introduced in Scotland

This week, it was announced that card ballot paper overlays, supported by audio, will be used for the first time in the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections in May.

This follows many years of work by RNIB Scotland to improve voting accessibility for blind and partially sighted people. Previously, voters could request a Tactile Voting Device (TVD), a plastic template with numbered flaps. However, it still required a sighted person to tell voters the candidate list, and could be too small or misalign with the ballot paper.

The new card overlays, accompanied by audio, are designed to fit the ballot paper for each constituency and region. The overlays have embossed and braille numbers and cut-out boxes that align with each box on the ballot. Voters can listen to an audio recording of the candidate list as many times as needed to place their mark confidently in the right box.

This new approach can help voters with sight loss cast their vote more independently and in secret.

Catriona Burness, Parliamentary and Policy Manager for RNIB Scotland said,

"We’re incredibly proud to see this work lead to a real step forward for accessible voting. Thank you to everyone who shared their expertise and personal experience to help trial the overlay and take another step towards accessible voting.

"We look forward to continuing to work with partners to improve access to democracy for people with sight loss across Scotland."