Draft guidance for Returning Officers – Assistance with voting for disabled voters

Every voter should have the right to vote independently and in secret.

However, we know that disabled people including blind and partially sighted people face barriers to voting which include:

• their voting rights not being communicated in an accessible way
• not having the support they need when registering to vote or voting
• physical, psychological and information barriers when voting at a polling station
• the method of voting - making a cross in a specific location on a piece of paper - being a principally visual exercise

The Equality Act defines having a disability as having a physical or mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on the ability to do common day to day activities. A disability can be as a result of a medical condition: for example, someone with arthritis in their hands may have difficulty gripping things without the use of an auxiliary aid. But a disability does not have to be a diagnosed medical condition and can include physical or psychological impairments that can be visible and invisible. For example, if a person experiences depression, they may have difficulty concentrating - as well as physical impairments, such as extreme tiredness.

This guidance will help you to consider barriers to voting, how you can ensure you and your staff are aware of them, and how you can anticipate, identify and provide support and equipment at polling stations to enable, or make it easier for, disabled people to vote independently and secretly.

Returning Officers (ROs) are required to provide such equipment, as is reasonable, to enable or make it easier for disabled voters to cast their vote independently and in secret for all UK elections2 . This requirement replaces the previous limited and prescriptive requirements and also sits within the broader legal framework of rights and protections for disabled people and specific provisions in electoral law to help to safeguard and improve the experience of disabled voters.

Under the Equality Act 2010, ROs in Great Britain have a duty to anticipate the needs of disabled voters and make reasonable adjustments to remove substantial disadvantage for those voters. This means ROs must take steps to understand and anticipate on an ongoing basis the needs of disabled voters – with different types of disability, support and access requirements within their area so that they can make informed decisions about how best to meet these needs by making reasonable adjustments, including providing appropriate equipment and support. This is known as the anticipatory duty.

Section 149 of the Equality Act also requires public authorities and those exercising public functions to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty to have due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity by encouraging participation in public life, which would include voting.

You should engage with colleagues who have responsibility for ensuring that relevant duties under these provisions are fulfilled across the different services provided by your organisation e.g. the local authority. This will help to ensure that you have a clear understanding of how to apply these principles to your role as RO on a continuing basis.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published information on the anticipatory duty (Opens in new window) and criteria for making reasonable adjustments (Opens in new window), and guidance on meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty (Opens in new window) under the Equality Act 2010. While this information is not written specifically for Returning Officers, it offers some helpful guidance on:

• what the anticipatory duty (Opens in new window) and making reasonable adjustments (Opens in new window) means
• practical examples (Opens in new window) of making reasonable adjustments
• the steps that are legally required, as well as recommended actions, to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty

You should apply the following general principles3 :

• there should be proper analysis of all the relevant material and an appreciation of the duty to have ‘due regard’
• it should not be a ‘box-ticking’ exercise but should instead be integrated in the decision-making process
• the duty is a continuing one
• the duty to have due regard should be exercised with rigour and an open mind
• the duty should be reconsidered if new information comes to light and adequate records should be kept of the consideration and decision-making processes undertaken in order to demonstrate that the equality duties have been undertaken conscientiously

Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires all government bodies, which includes the Chief Electoral Officer, to promote equality of opportunity between those with a disability and those without when carrying out their functions. This duty applies to policy development, policy implementation and the provision of services (including the running of elections).

In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires that public authorities, which includes the Chief Electoral Officer, make reasonable adjustments to remove any substantial disadvantage for disabled people.

You must consider the accessibility of potential polling stations when considering designating or reviewing a polling place9 . The relevant authority10  must seek representations from those who have a particular expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for persons who have different forms of disability.11    

Our polling district review guidance contains more information about this duty and includes an accessibility checklist that can be used to assess the suitability of each polling place and polling station.

The Elections Act 2022 introduced the initial provisions to assist blind, partially sighted and other disabled voters at polling stations into UK electoral law. These provisions have been replicated across different polls by UK Government and by the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd for polls across Scotland and Wales. 

You are required to:

• provide each polling station with such equipment as it is reasonable to provide for the purposes of enabling, or making it easier for, relevant persons12  to vote independently and in secret
• have regard to the Commission’s guidance on the equipment to provide at polling stations13 . This guidance can be found in Providing equipment at the polling station that enables or makes voting easier for disabled voters

The provisions also extend the rules about who can act as a companion to include anyone who is: 

• over the age of 18 for UK Parliamentary elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, Northern Ireland Assembly elections and local government elections in England and Northern Ireland, or 
• over the age of 16 for Senedd, Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections in Wales and Scotland.14

The wording of the provisions recognises the variations in what people need to be able to vote, so that they may access the most appropriate support for each of them, ensuring the widest possible assistance, support, innovation and accessibility. The terms used reflect that the duty is for ROs to both enable voting for those who find it impossible, and make it easier for those who find it possible but difficult. 

These provisions apply to the following polls:

• UK Parliamentary elections
• Senedd elections
• Scottish Parliamentary elections
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales
• Local elections in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales14
• Mayoral elections in England 
• GLA elections
• Assembly elections in Northern Ireland
• Neighbourhood Planning Referendums
• Council Tax Referendums