New Report Finds British Elections More Accessible
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
Disabled people in Great Britain are more likely to find an accessible polling place now than in past elections, says a new report issued by the Disability Rights Commission. In the 2000 elections, 69% of the polling stations were found to be inaccessible - but this is a big improvement over the 94% of polls found to be inaccessible in 1997.
Eighty-one percent of the survey participants said they found poll workers to be friendly, helpful, and "keen to improve accessibility." The polls received high marks for having clear signposts (80%), having appropriately-designed ramps (71%), and being well lit (71%).
Only 26% of the respondents believed accessibility has improved, though, and many cited problems at the polls which included the failure to provide for secret voting for blind and visually impaired voters, a lack of accessible parking, a lack of ramps into polling places, and lack of low-level ballot boxes.
Most polling stations are in schools or community halls, and while national legislation requires improvements in accessibility, schools are not required to be accessible until 2002, and some sites have until 2004 to achieve accessibility. Other election sites are located in private buildings such as places of worship, supermarkets, and shops. Often, these are more likely to be accessible.
New laws in Great Britain may help improve accessibility. The Representation of the People Act of 2000, when fully implemented, should help reduce barriers to political equality for disabled Britons. The act expands the assistance to be provided to disabled voters; specifies that people who reside in mental hospitals can use the hospital as an address and are eligible to vote; and provides that voters be allowed to cast a postal vote if they wish.
Disability Rights Commission critiques 2000 campaign
The Disability Rights Commission also focused on the campaign itself in reporting on the 2000 election. The report criticizes the campaign for having "nothing to do with policies" and claims that candidates "stuck to tightly controlled timetables which maximised media opportunities and minimised the parties' exposure to difficult questions."
Noting that fewer than 60% of the electorate voted in the election, the report says that issues of important to minority groups such as disabled people received little attention in the campaign. Disability-related issues were included in party platform documents, but were not generally discussed in candidate speeches or media coverage of the election.
Disabled people are not usually included in discussions about increasing participation in the electoral process, the report says. "There are 8.6 million disabled adults in Britain and disabled people are hugely under-represented amongst decision-makers at all levels but still disability does not seem to have made it onto the representation agenda."
The Commission's recommendations for improving participation rates and ensuring equality include:
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Ensuring implementation of the Representation of the People Act
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Extending the Disability Discrimination Act to explicitly address polling places
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Providing funds and guidance to improve accessibility
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Addressing representation and participation in new research and projects
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Urging political parties to involve disabled people and address disability issues
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Addressing accessibility issues at the level of local government.
The complete report, entitled "Polls Apart 3: Campaigning for Accessible Democracy," written by Ruth Scott and Gwilym Morris on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission, can be found at www.scope.org.uk/action/campaigns/polls.shtml.
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