According to an audit by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities, out of 90 polling stations surveyed in three Ukrainian cities, only 11 are accessible to people with disabilities.

Not only people in wheelchairs face difficulties in the voting process. Polling stations are not adapted for people with visual and hearing impairments, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.

There is a misconception that the possibility of voting at the voter's place of residence (including at home), as provided for in all election laws, fully ensures the right of a person with a disability to express their will. However, there are a number of reasons why not all voters with disabilities wish to vote at home:

  • First, for many voters, voting at a polling station is a unique experience democratic expression of will and the opportunity to share this experience with other citizens of their country.
  • Second, not all voters with disabilities want to let strangers into their homes without the possibility of refusing any of them, including observers.
  • Thirdly, due to possible motor and other disabilities, people with disabilities are at greater risk of spoiling the ballot., In case of voting at home, replacement of a spoiled ballot with a new one is not provided, since the number of ballots issued to the commission members to organize voting at the place of residence should be equal to the number of voters voting in this way.

Legislative aspect

In addition to the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, which enshrines the principles of equal and free elections, as well as certain tools to facilitate participation in elections for voters with disabilities, the following bylaws provide for free access to polling stations for people with disabilities:

  • Resolution of the Central Election Commission (CEC) № 5 of January 19, 2012 «On Requirements to the Premises of Precinct Election Commissions and Voting Rooms»;

  • CEC Resolution no. 18 of January 26, 2012 «On the requirements for the premises of district election commissions for the election of people's deputies of Ukraine, the norms for providing election commissions with equipment, inventory, vehicles and means of communication, office equipment, other material assets, types of services that election commissions may purchase at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine»;
  • CEC Resolution no. 31 of March 4, 2014 «On the requirements for the premises of district and precinct election commissions for the presidential elections of Ukraine and voting premises, the norms for providing election commissions for the presidential elections of Ukraine with vehicles, communication equipment, equipment, inventory, office equipment, other material assets, types of services that election commissions may purchase at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine»;

  • CEC Resolution № 161 of August 10, 2015 «On Regulatory Requirements for the Premises of Territorial and Precinct Election Commissions for the Election of Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Regional, District, City, District in Cities, Village, Township Councils, Village, Township, City Mayors and Heads of Villages, Townships and Voting Premises, List and Standards for Providing These Commissions with Vehicles, communication means, equipment, inventory, office equipment, other material assets, types of works and services that territorial election commissions may purchase at the expense of the relevant local budget funds received as a targeted subvention from the State Budget of Ukraine or the relevant local budget funds allocated for the preparation and holding of local elections.».

Although these CEC resolutions are binding, the lack of mechanisms in the legislation to monitor compliance with the requirements set forth in these resolutions, as well as effective sanctions for non-compliance and the resources necessary to ensure the accessibility of elections for people with disabilities, in practice leads to the ignoring of the requirements of these documents by the authorities. That is why polling station election commissions and balance holders of voting premises often ignore the requirements specified in these documents.

How to change the situation?

According to the IFES, 77% of Ukrainians believe that polling stations should be more accessible for people with disabilities.

Although inaccessibility of voting premises can be an obstacle not only for citizens with disabilities, but also, for example, parents with baby strollers and people with temporary injuries, the number of complaints and reports about the inaccessibility of voting premises for people with disabilities remains low. Due to the lack of complaints, they do not recognize the problem as urgent and requiring prompt resolution.

Make your important contribution to ensuring the accessibility of polling stations - write an application to the district election commission regarding the inaccessibility of the voting room.

To do this, you need to take a few simple steps:

Step 1. Determine whether your polling station is accessible to people with disabilities.

According to the requirements of the Law of Ukraine «On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine», you as a voter can visit your polling station within 20 days before the election day. The address of your polling station can be found at here.

Determine which of these 10 main features your polling station does not meet:

  1. The polling station should be located on the ground floor. If there are steps leading to it, ramps must be provided. If the polling station is not located on the ground floor, there must be an elevator at the location.
  2. Corridors, entrances, and the space allocated for voting should be free of obstacles. All polling stations should have enough space to allow a person in a wheelchair to move around easily.
  3. Seating for voters should be provided,who cannot stand for long periods of time.
  4. The road to the polling station should be accessible, and be free of any obstacles. Parking spaces for people with disabilities should be provided nearby.
  5. Voters with disabilities should be able to choose a person to help them at the polling station. These should not be persons responsible for organizing and conducting the election. The persons responsible for organizing and conducting the election must inform other voters about this.
  6. Polling stations should have audio devices, reference books printed in Braille and large print, magnifying glasses and other means to help visually impaired voters vote independently.
  7. Polling stations should be well lit, to ensure that voters with visual impairments can clearly see the information on the ballot and other materials.
  8. Surfaces on which voters will write should be low enough for all voters,including for those who use wheelchairs. Ballot boxes should also be placed at a height that is accessible to voters who wish to put down their ballot without the assistance of an assistant.
  9. Instructions for voters with hearing impairments should be available in written format or explained with the help of a sign language interpreter.
  10. Newsletter design should be simple and easy to understand people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities.

For convenience, you can print or download this document on a mobile phone with the listed features of an accessible polling station.

Step 2. Write an application

To write an application, you will need the following information:

Information about your district election commission (DEC): address, name of the chairman of the commission. This information can be found at here.

  1. If you submit your application later than 10 days after the election day - Information about your district state administration: full name and address. The list of district state administrations (local authorities) is available here.
  2. List of violations at your polling station, that you found according to the instructions in the step.

Documents confirming the unsatisfactory condition of the polling station (optional). These can be printed photos or video files, or they can be burned to a digital medium (for example, a CD).

Download an example statements.

The form of the application is arbitrary. At the end of the application, you can provide your own suggestions for eliminating the deficiencies and ask to be informed about the result of the application within the time limit established by law.

Step 3. Submitting an application

The application must be sent by mail. Depending on the date of application, the addressee may vary:

  • If you submit your application within 10 days after the election day, the application is sent to to the address of your district election commission (DEC) and simultaneously to the address of the district state administration.
  • The addresses of district election commissions can be found here: cvk.gov.ua.
  • Find the list of district state administrations here here.
  • If you submit your application later than 10 days after the election, the addressee must be indicated only the district state administration, as the powers of district election commissions expire after the elections.

Let's make the choice available together! VIDEO

IFES