Disability and the Right to Vote

by Nonu

Rated: E · In & Out · Other · #1570554

People with disabilities can and do VOTE.

As a Resource Center for people with Special Needs, Latika Roy Foundation is profoundly concerned about the voting rights of the people with disabilities.

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Disability and the Right to Vote in Uttarakhand

“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men from other men”.

People with disabilities can and do VOTE. And their votes COUNT. Following a Supreme Court order in October 2004, the Election Commission had promised easy access to booths, and Braille stickers on electronic voting machines (EVMs) to enable the disabled to cast their votes with ease and dignity.
The 15th Lok Sabha elections is witnessing the usual political scuffle between the ruling coalition the UPA (led by Congress) and the NDA (led by BJP); followed by the the fallout between the various coalition partners of both the alliances (read Lalu and Paswan taking a different route in Bihar and Biju Patnaik leaving BJP out in the cold in Orissa). But this time the Lok Sabha elections are also making news for another reason the on going campaign by various NGOs and other organizations to make these general elections disabled-friendly, thanks to the introduction of Braille Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Before the introduction of Braille EVMs, as per the law, the sight-disabled voters could take one helper inside the polling booth in order to cast their vote. However this meant that these voters had to disclose their voting preferences to the helpers, resulting in breach of the no-secrecy issue vital in casting the vote. Therefore in 2004, the Election Commission discussed this issue with the two EVM manufacturers-Bangalore-based Bharat Electronics and Hyderabad-based Electronic Corporation of India and came up with this solution.
As a Resource Center for people with Special Needs, Latika Roy Foundation is profoundly concerned about the voting rights of the people with disabilities. Taking it further, Rizwan Ali, Awareness Team member of the Foundation used RTI to find the total number of disabled voters in each district, availability of Braille EVMs and ramps in all polling booths and centers in Uttarakhand, and sensitization of the Election staff with regards to voters with disabilities. It is quite astounding to learn from the response of the Uttarakhand Chief Election Commissioner’s Office that they do not have any detailed information of the total number of PWD Voters in the State. At the same time, out of the 9003 polling booths and 6463 polling centres only 1 Braille EVM has been installed at National Institute of Visually Handicapped at Rajpur Road in the district of Dehradun. It may be reminded to the authorities that Uttarakhand has 13 Districts including Dehradun. And there are a huge number of people with disabilities in all the districts. This situation is undermining the very foundation of Democracy.

Now the good news! The physically disabled voters do not have to wait in queue; they can directly vote. The report also highlighted that the election workers would be sensitized on the disabled voters during the course of their training. The report also says that awareness regarding accessible booths and special facilities for People with disabilities shall be raised through various media- print, radio, television and through political parties. But it remains to be seen how many disabled voters are aware of these facts!
Voting is power, and measuring the size of any group's vote can significantly impact that group's political muscle. But the disability vote is not often examined. As a group, or special interest constituency, people with disabilities are invisible, not included or even identified in exit polling or post election analyses. A true democracy does not discriminate the voters on the grounds of caste, race, religion and physical ability. Discrimination of any kind doubts the basis of a democratic set-up!

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