Paving the way to electoral equality
New access standards for polling booths
National standards will be set for polling booths to improve access for people with disabilities following an inquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
The Commission is pleased to announce that the Electoral Council of Australia has agreed to review access and set benchmarks for polling booths.
Deputy Disability Commissioner Mr Graeme Innes said the inquiry into polling booth access for people with disabilities was sparked by a complaint from Newcastle woman Jackie Matters following the 1999 Newcastle local government elections.
Ms Matters alleged her mother, who then walked with the aid of crutches, and her father, who is partially deaf and blind, found it extremely difficult to get access to the local polling booth. After trying two booths, they waited in their car for an electoral commission officer to bring voting slips to them.
Mr Innes said voting from a car outside a polling booth was "inappropriate and undignified' and postal voting was an unsatisfactory long-term solution for people with disabilities.
"Postal voters do not have the opportunity to take into account the final day or two in the run-up to the election and do not get the literature that is handed out on the way to the polling booth,' he said. "It takes away the opportunity for them to attend a polling booth the same as every other Australian.'
He welcomed the Electoral Council's decision. 'I hope the audit will achieve better access for all people with disabilities,' he said. "Better facilities will also help older people and parents with prams.'
He urged Australian electoral commissions to look at innovative steps taken in other countries, such as Canada, to assist people with disabilities on election day.
"In Canada, access to Government buildings is guaranteed,' he said. "More than 1600 ramps have been built across the country over the past decade, many of them permanent. Canada also presents voting information in alternative forms, such as large print and Braille, or captioned videotapes for people with hearing difficulties."
Media contact: Janine MacDonald 02 9284 9880, 0412 783 631
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and Equal Opportunity Commission. Last updated 2 December 2001.
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