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Voting rights for vision impaired |
The NSW Electoral Commission has been reconsidering its position since the courts found it had unlawfully discriminated against someone who was blind by failing to provide a Braille ballot paper. |
The courts found that the law intended that a person record their vote without anyone else knowing what it is, implicitly demanding that the process be a private one. |
An expert witness said that "the right to vote in secret is now such a well-established, deep-rooted principle that many view absolute secrecy of the ballot as a necessary ingredient to maintaining democratic integrity ... voting with assistance at the polling station means that voters are denied the rights and protections associated with the secret ballot". |
The NSW Electoral Commission made voting more accessible for those with vision impairment by providing Braille ballot papers for the state elections, but technology has moved on since then. |
Electronic voting has now been employed on a trial basis in the ACT with success. Electronic voting benefits people who are vision impaired, as well as those who are unable to cast a vote due to other sorts of physical disability. |
By reading instructions to voters electronically, electronic voting also assists those who cannot effectively follow written instructions in completing a ballot paper due to intellectual or learning disability, or even those with limited English. |
