Disabled voters to assess access

Some polling stations have proved difficult for wheelchair use

Voters with disabilities are being asked by a charity to assess the standard of access at polling stations.

The disabilities charity Scope wants to know if access has improved since the 2001 poll, when it says 69% of polling stations were inaccessible.

Lack of wheelchair access, no low-level booths and a lack of ballot papers in large print were encountered in 2001.

Election administrators said access was improving, but depended on the buildings housing the booths.

No-one who arrives at a station and who is registered will be turned away Gina Armstrong Association of Electoral Administrators Disabled voters in Wales judge access

Scope said that with 10 million disabled people in Britain, around 15,000 people in each constituency would have had difficulty voting at the last general election.

Scope's Richard Parnell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Some people were being turned away and told they couldn't vote, others had to do it in the street, others had to get someone else to vote for them."

Thursday's ballot is the first since the introduction of the Disability Act, which should make accessibility a requirement in polling stations.

Mr Parnell urged disabled people to take note of access and complete a survey available on its website Polls Apart UK.

He said that with turnout such an issue in the election campaign, it was important to allow all people who wanted to vote to do so.

"Sometimes it's not apathy, it's lack of access," he said.

Electoral staff often help disabled voters cast their ballot

The Association of Electoral Administrators said access for disabled voters was constantly improving.

"Polling stations can be anywhere, but some districts don't have suitable areas," said the association's Gina Armstrong.

In buildings without ramps presiding officers could take steps to help disabled voters, such as taking a polling booth outside the building to allow them to cast their ballot.

"No-one who arrives at a station and who is registered will be turned away," she said.

She added that postal voting was also open to disabled voters.