Today is General Election Day in the UK. I’ve been very concerned by the ableist discourse in some of the responses to people not receiving their postal ballots in good time to cast their votes today.
The local council where I live suggested this morning that those who had “chosen” to vote by post whose packs had not arrived yet could drop their postal vote off in person today. I have written to them to express concerns.
For many disabled voters, postal voting is a necessity, not a choice. It’s the same for people who are housebound due to their age or other factors, such as caring responsibilities whereby they cannot leave someone unattended. If they could get out to vote in-person they probably wouldn’t have requested a postal ballot in the first place!
Local authorities are public bodies with duties under equalities legislation to provide adjustments, and the suggested workarounds are simply not good enough.
Late arriving postal voting packs are also a problem for people who work away during the week, if they didn’t receive their ballot papers before last weekend. It’s school holidays in Scotland too so many people may have gone away.
Nobody should have the stress of being unable to exercise their democratic right to vote today. There is a risk that not all people will have had an equal chance to cast a vote today, which is in some cases discriminatory and in all cases undemocratic.
Laura Evans, CEO 4th July, 2024