As India’s Lok Sabha elections unfold, it’s imperative that all citizens, including the 62,63,701 registered persons with disabilities, exercise their fundamental right to vote in the world’s largest democracy.

“The government issues braille voter slips for the visually impaired persons who have flagged themselves as a person with visual impairments in Saksham App,” says Kinnari Desai, senior manager (inclusion) at the Blind People’s Association (BPA).

The booth-level officer (BLO) distributes accessible voter information slips with braille features to persons with visual impairments, along with normal voter information slips.

“A voter guide is also distributed among every elector’s household ahead of elections, giving them information about the date and time of the poll, contact details of the BLOs, important websites, helpline numbers, and other important information, including the dos and don’ts for voters at the polling station,” said Desai.

“I believe it is a festival of democracy, and everyone should celebrate it and make the elections inclusive and accessible,” added Desai.

How do blind people cast their votes?

Talking to Gujarat Samachar (Digital) Desai said, “A visually impaired person casts their vote in the same VVPAT (voter-verifiable paper audit trail) machine like every other elector; the only limitation being that a blind person cannot cross check their  vote due to a lack of an image text to speech (ITTS) system.”

At the polling station, individuals with visual impairments have the option to bring a companion, as per the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

In addition to this, braille dummy ballot sheets are provided at polling stations before the actual voting, which allows visually impaired individuals to independently study the candidate and cast their votes independently.

PwDs (People with Disabilities) are an important part of the electoral process. The Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 states, “The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them.”

But are our elections fully accessible and inclusive?

For the first time, the Election Commission has provided the facility of home voting for the elderly as well as PwDs in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Desai stated that the state election committee and BPA work together to raise awareness among disabled individuals, encouraging them to leave their homes and participate in the voting process, thus enhancing accessibility for PwDs in elections.

Inspiration for voters

Dhiru Rojasara, 33, lost his eyesight in 2008, has never failed to exercise his right to vote. Hailing from a remote village, Devdhari, in Rajkot district, Rojasara travels 190 km from Ahmedabad to cast his vote in every election.

Every year, Rojasara gathers 15 differently abled persons from his village and motivates them to vote. Not only this, he also takes them to the polling stations.

“Everyone should vote in the upcoming elections. I request all the differently-abled people to exercise their voting rights as responsible citizens,” said Rojasara.

Also read:

Age breakdown for Gujarat’s voters in Lok Sabha elections 2024

Ever-expanding Ahmedabad experiences ever-increasing number of voters in LS polls