Accessibility on polling day: 2019 UK Parliamentary general election

Everyone should be able to cast their vote with confidence. When you get to your polling station on Thursday 12 December, there will be a number of things in place to help you vote.

Going to the polling station

Each polling station should have a ramp or a separate entrance, so that everyone can access it. If you do experience any problems when getting into your polling station, a member of staff can come to assist you and can bring your ballot paper to you, if helpful.

You should also find a wheelchair accessible polling booth in every polling station. 

If you’d like to learn more about what the polling station will be like before you go, you can read Mencap’s easy read guide to voting. 

Marking your ballot paper

If you have a visual impairment and need help to mark your ballot paper, you can ask the polling station staff for a large print sample of the ballot paper to help you.

You can also ask for a special voting device which will help you to mark your ballot paper and vote for who you want to. The staff will explain how it works.

Of course, you can also take your assistance dog to the polling station with you.
 

Asking for help

Someone can help you if you need them to. You can ask the Presiding Officer at the polling station, or you can ask someone else to come along to help (such as a family member, friend or support worker, as long as they are 18 years old or over and eligible to vote in the election. They can only help two people to vote).

If you would like them to, polling station staff will be happy to give you a tour of the polling station, before you cast your vote.

If you need any help on polling day, just ask. The polling station staff are there to help you.

Tell us about your experience

We give advice, guidance and checklists to the people who run elections so they know what they need to do to make polling stations accessible. We've also written reports about what would needs to be improved to make sure elections are accessible for all and are working with a range of organisations and the UK Government to make this happen.

To help us understand more about the experience of voters and what can be done to make voting accessible for everyone, we're asking you to tell us about your experience.

Complete our feedback form