Voting, accessibility and supports

With the Federal Election fast approaching, you can find lots of resources about accessibility and voting on this page of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website: Information for people with disability or mobility restrictions – Australian Electoral Commission

This includes information about:

AEC inspects all premises used for voting and completes an accessibility assessment. The results are made available on the AEC’s website so voters can see information about the polling place’s accessibility: Where can I vote in the 2022 federal election

The AEC has indicated that if you need assistance to vote at a polling place, you can ask someone to help you. For example, if you’re unable to queue, you can ask a friendly staff member to bring you to the front. If you cannot get out of the car and the polling official in charge is satisfied that you cannot enter the polling place, someone may bring the ballot papers to you.

This week there was a People with Disability Australia (PWDA) and AEC Election Participation & Disability webinar:

Previously, PWDA hosted a webinar to help empower people with disability to participate in the upcoming federal election. Due to some confusion about the date, panel members from the Australia Electoral Commission weren’t able to attend until about one hour into the webinar. However, attendee questions were sent to the AEC and their answers can be found here. You can also watch the webinar recording for the discussion community members had about voting issues for people with disability.

Other useful resources include:

Voting Kit 2022 Federal Election – Easy English Resources – Advocacy for Inclusion
This explainer of Vote Compass – IDEAS blog
I Can Vote and Plan to Vote tools created by Inclusion Melbourne and the Victorian Electoral Commission: Voting and Electoral Inclusion – Inclusion Melbourne
Strategies to Support People with Intellectual Disabilities to Participate in Voting: Final Report – Living With Disability Research Centre | La Trobe University
Election 2022: how accessible are political party websites? – Centre For Accessibility Australia
Telephone voting for people isolating with COVID-19 – IDEAS blog

Here are some videos explaining how to vote and how preferential voting works:

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) also hosted a free, online forum for our community to hear from Australia’s major parties what they are promising children and young people with disability in the Federal Election:

Once you have voted (if you are voting at a physical polling place location, not with a telephone or postal vote), Physical Disability Australia would like to hear about your experience in this online survey on Polling Place Accessibility during Australia’s 2022 Federal Election.