Arrangements for disabled voters at polling stations

Anyone who's eligible to vote on polling day should be able to do so in a confident manner. Polling station staff are trained to provide assistance to any voter who asks for it. We work hard to make sure that polling stations are accessible for all electors.

Most polling stations are wheelchair accessible, and there are special booths to ensure privacy of voting. At least one booth will have a writing surface at a suitable level for a wheelchair.

In those few polling stations with no wheelchair access, the Presiding Officer will offer assistance to the voter to enter the station, or will be authorised to bring a ballot paper out to that person to ensure that they can fill it in. This ballot paper will then be folded and delivered to the ballot box by the Presiding Officer.

You should also be able to expect:

  • accessible parking
  • accessible toilet
  • level access to the building
  • lighting and visibility

Adaptations all voters with a disability have the right to include:

Assistance to mark your ballot paper

You can ask the Presiding Officer at the polling station to mark the ballot paper for you; Presiding Officers are legally bound to secrecy. Or bring a close family member who's over 18 to help you vote; or someone else such as a support worker as long as they are entitled to vote in the election themselves.

Wheelchair-accessible polling booth

Here is a photo of a wheelchair-accessible polling booth which can be used.

wheelchair-accessible polling booth

People with mobility issues might also wish to apply for a postal vote if they would prefer.

Writing aid / pencil grip

A writing aid for standard pencils or pens, ideal for arthritic or less dextrous voters.

Writing aid shown with pencil

A tactile voting device

A tactile device has a sticky backing, which attaches on top of your ballot paper, so if you are visually impaired you can mark the ballot paper in secret.

The Presiding Officer will read out the list of candidates to you, and you will then be guided to a booth. A strip of plastic imprinted with Braille numbers, large type and flexible tabs is attached to the ballot paper so that the numbers line up with the candidate's names. If the person wishes to vote for the third candidate on the list, then they pull back the third tab on strip and make their mark directly underneath it. The paper is then folded and placed into the ballot box by the voter as normal. This device can also be used for anyone with difficulty keeping their cross in the square intended.

Audio voting device

From 2026 we hope to be able to provide audio voting devices across the district which will assist visually impaired voters by reading out the information on the ballot paper.

Further information on this will be provided nearer the time of the election.

A large print reference copy of the ballot paper

This should be clearly displayed in the polling station in a well-lit area. There is also an enlarged hand-held copy of the ballot paper marked 'sample' which you can take into the polling booth for reference. This is printed on a green background to assist voters who have dyslexia. You must still mark your vote on the official ballot paper not the large print reference copy. 

They can be accompanied into the booth by a companion or the Presiding Officer - this person will read out the ballot paper and you will tell them where to make the voting mark. The accompanying person will be required to sign a declaration to indicate that they have recorded the vote truly and faithfully.

Braille ballot paper

A braille ballot paper will also be available 

Each polling station will have a small magnifier to enable voters to enlarge the print of the paper. This is particularly useful for anyone who has forgotten their reading glasses.

A large print version of the ballot paper will also be available at the polling station.

Large ballot paper magnifier

An A5 sized magnifier to assist people with impaired vision will be available.

Large ballot paper magnifier

Survey on accessibility at elections

If you would like to let us know about a disability that affects you and provide feedback on how we could improve accessibility arrangements in Arun; please complete our accessibility survey