Policy Background Accessibility
Under current electoral law, provisions to support disabled people to vote are limited and very specific. Returning Officers are required to provide a number of items to support voters with sight loss including a large print ballot paper and a device for use by blind and partially sighted people to support them to vote at the polling station. The device has been prescribed in secondary legislation and is commonly known as the Tactile Voting Device ("TVD").
	In September 2017, the Government launched a Call for Evidence on Access to Elections , asking for views on how people with disabilities experience registering to vote and voting itself with a view to considering if current measures were sufficient and to look at accessibility more broadly. In total, 256 responses were received, including from individuals, organisations, charities, NHS Foundation Trusts, sector representative bodies, and local authority teams.
	The evidence received was analysed by Government in partnership with the Government-chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group (whose membership includes the Royal Mencap Society, Royal National Institute of Blind People, United Response, NHS, the Association of Electoral Administrators, representatives of the devolved administrations, the Electoral Commission and Scottish Assessors Association). The Government’s response, published on 30 August 2018, set out key findings and recommended actions to improve the democratic participation of disabled people.
	A specific action contained in the Call for Evidence considered what improvements could be made to the existing arrangements to support voters with sight loss. The responses received to the Call for Evidence included a view that the TVD was not an effective method of support for a blind or partially sighted person to vote at the polling station and that inclusion of it as a requirement in legislation worked against Returning Officers considering other options.
	Current requirements also limit, to a qualified elector or a close family member aged 18 or over, who can act in the role of ‘companion’ to assist a disabled person to vote at a polling station. This has been highlighted through the Call for Evidence process as being a barrier to disabled people being able to obtain assistance to participate in elections as it excludes carers who are not entitled to vote in the poll.
	This Act responds to the Call for Evidence comments and replaces current limited requirements with a broader requirement for Returning Officers to provide such equipment as is reasonable to enable voters with disabilities to cast their vote independently and secretly. It also expands the criteria for who can act in the role of ‘companion’ by redefining that as someone who is aged 18 or over.