For some reason I hardly have good news to talk about, but this week, in and amongst the turmoil currently going on throughout the world, there was a glimmer of hope for humanity here in our little neck of the woods; over-the-phone voting for people with disabilities.
This service will be available to those who are blind, partially blind, or have a physical disability that prevents them from marking their ballot papers independently.
This may seem like a somewhat small step, but it’s a step nonetheless and more importantly, a step in the right direction. As with everything, it took a significant amount of campaigning to make this happen, which cannot be ignored.
Anything that makes it easier for people with disabilities to exercise their democratic rights is a wonderful thing. All I seem to hear about are news stories about people ignoring the needs of my community. It is a much needed breath of fresh air to see someone, in this case the Electoral Commission, acknowledge this particular difficulty and putting measures in place to address the issue.
Most importantly, its acknowledging the fact that people with disabilities have something to say, and that is the most powerful aspect of this situation. Our quality of life and future prospects are deteriorating. With more people with disabilities being able to vote, governments and political parties will no longer be able to ignore the fact that we are, in fact, here.
Of course we still have an incredibly long way to go for equal rights, but with this being put in place it will allow for that change to finally happen.
Great news. One thing I am interested in is how homeless people can vote, as if they don’t have a permanent address, how can they get on the roll?
This is good news Latifa.
How does it work?
Brilliant news, Latifa. I’ll spread the word to anyone housebound/disabled!
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/06/10/online-voting-no-longer-a-viable-option-post-2013/
And yet over the phone voting must have an even bigger risk of being falsely recorded, being manipulated and privacy breaches than online voting.
Yes Draco, this is why I was asking. How would it be done – to ensure safety, rather than another entity usurping your vote?
Latifa, how does it work?
This is a move in the right direction. With 24% of the population having some level of disability this is a huge part of the electorate that needs to be informed and vote for its own interests and all of our interests.
Here’s a recently published analysis of how easy political party websites are to access for people with disabilities.
http://accease.com/accease-work/partywebsites2014
“Most importantly, its acknowledging the fact that people with disabilities have something to say, and that is the most powerful aspect of this situation. Our quality of life and future prospects are deteriorating. With more people with disabilities being able to vote, governments and political parties will no longer be able to ignore the fact that we are, in fact, here.”
Yes, a voice for disabled and a VOTE by disabled must be heard and accepted, so this is some small consolation for the ones that would otherwise find it difficult to go to the booths and cast their votes the way most do.
I trust that they will put safeguards into place to prevent this measure to be abused.
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