What it is
All voters have the right to vote independently and in secret.
The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and accessible options available for disabled people when voting.
Reasonable adjustments can include alternative options or changes to physical access and equipment, and support to remove any barriers to voting in elections.
Accessing the polling station and support
All polling stations in Renfrewshire are wheelchair accessible and have a low-level polling booths for wheelchair users.
Temporary ramps can also be provided.
Some polling stations may also have a step-free access route. This alternative route will be clearly signposted at the polling station.
Assistance animals
If you have an assistance animal, such as a guide dog, you can bring them inside all polling stations in Renfrewshire.
Taking someone with you
If you have a disability, you can take someone (a companion) with you to the polling station to help you vote.
This could be family member or friend who is eligible to vote in the election. They must be over 18 years old on polling day.
They’ll also need to fill in a companion declaration form to state they have recorded your vote faithfully.
You must ask the person in charge of the polling station, known as the Presiding Officer, for a companion declaration form when you come to place your vote.
Help from the Presiding Officer
If you have any questions about the voting process or how to complete your ballot paper, you can ask the Presiding Officer or the Poll Clerks at the polling station.
If you have a disability which prevents you from marking your ballot paper on your own, you can ask the Presiding Officer to help you.
Presiding Officers are legally required to keep your vote confidential.
Equipment and adjustments in polling stations
There will be number of reasonable adjustments and equipment available at polling stations to help you vote independently and in secret on polling day. These include:
Pencil grips
All polling stations in Renfrewshire can provide specially designed pencil grips if you struggle to hold or use pencils.
Coloured transparencies
Coloured transparencies are available at every polling station to assist people with dyslexia.
Large print versions of ballot papers
Large print versions of ballot papers are available for reference in all polling stations.
You must cast your vote on a standard sized ballot paper, as required by law.
Magnifying glasses
Magnifying glasses are also available at all polling stations.
Card ballot paper overlay for blind or partially sighted people
Card ballot paper overlays, accompanied by audio, are available at all polling stations to help blind people or people with visual impairments mark their ballot paper.
The card overlay is designed to fit the ballot paper exactly.
The overlays have cut-out boxes that line up with each box on the ballot paper, with braille and raised numbers to guide you.
You’ll also be able to listen to an audio recording of the candidate list as many times as you need.
Tactile voting devices
We’ll also be providing tactile voting devices are each polling station.
These devices are fixed to the ballot paper. Each candidate is numbered on the device to match the numbers on the ballot paper.
The numbers on the device are raised in braille. There is a flap next to each number which you can open when voting.
The list of candidates on the ballot paper can be read out to you.
After being told the candidate numbers, you can find the number on the device and open the matching flap to vote for your chosen candidate.
The device is then removed, and the ballot placed in the ballot box.
The Presiding Officer and poll clerks can provide the tactile voting device and explain how it works.
Disability aids you normally use
You can use any disability aids you normally use, such as a text-to-speech apps, to help you mark your ballot paper.
Listen to instructions on how to vote
Phone 0300 300 0246 if you’d like to hear instructions on how to vote.
This is an option for visually impaired or blind voters. You’ll be able to listen to the ballot read aloud with instructions on how to vote.
The phone number gives you the option to transfer to our election team.
They are available:
- Monday to Thursday: 8:45am to 4:45pm
- Friday: 8:45am to 3:55pm
- 7 May: 7:00am to 10:00pm.
If you need to contact the election team outside these hours, please call back during opening times. Otherwise, please hold while your call is transferred.
If you’d prefer to listen to the spoken ballots through our website, you can download the relevant files below, which contain audio recordings of the instructions:
How to request a reasonable adjustment
If you require a reasonable adjustment at your polling station, you must tell us in advance of an election.
You can request a reasonable adjustment by phoning our election office on 0141 487 0139.
Please do this as soon as possible before the election date to give sufficient time for your request to be considered.
Guides for voters with a learning disability
You can see an easy-read guides about elections and how to vote on the My Vote My Voice website.
British Sign Language (BSL) videos
You can view BSL videos about: