If a true secret ballot is to exist, the voting system needs to be able to allow people with all abilities to cast their vote without the involvement of another person.
The right to vote is a right that everyone should have. We have created 8 Easy Read voting guides for better inclusion.
Get ready for the General Election election on Thursday the 4th of July 2024.
Innovate Trust values are all about promoting the independence and voices of vulnerable people.
The right to vote is at the heart of our society. However, people with a disability, especially a learning disability, are much less likely to vote in elections.
Our Your Vote Matters project saw educational sessions and resources provided to people with learning disabilities.
From April 2023 to March 2024, we were awarded funding from the Welsh Government’s Democratic Engagement Grant to address this under-representation.
Jump to section
- Key numbers
- Co production
- Electoral register and registering to vote
- Difficulties of voting in person for people with disabilities
- 3 ways to vote Easy Read download
- Learning outcomes for Your Vote Matters participants
- How accessible is our voting system?
- Easy Read voting resources
- What has Your Vote Matters taught us?
- Make your voice heard in your next election
Key numbers
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- 43 sessions delivered to 240 participants.
- 19 of these sessions were delivered on the Insight app, Innovate Trust’s secure community app.
- Online sessions enabled individuals from all over the UK (including North Wales and Scotland) to join the project.
- 24 workshops and other events took place in person in accessible community facilities, the Senedd, and council offices across Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
- 101 unique participants
- We worked with partners from Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Rhondda Cynon Taf councils including:
- Elected officials
- Day centres
- Woodlands Special School
- Vale People First
- The Electoral Commission
- The Senedd.
Co-production
We’re proud to say that every part of the project was shaped by participants.
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- 10 basic sessions on aspects of democratic engagement were based on the feedback we received during pre-grant consultations.
- Some sessions were delivered by a peer volunteer as part of our peer-led Current Affairs group on our Insight app.
- Feedback from each sessions shaped future sessions, ensuring the needs of participants were met.
- Easy Read resources were produced with a peer-led group to make sure the contents were appropriate and relevant.
Co-production
We’re proud to say that every part of the project was shaped by participants.
-
- 10 basic sessions on aspects of democratic engagement were based on the feedback we received during pre-grant consultations.
- Some sessions were delivered by a peer volunteer as part of our peer-led Current Affairs group on our Insight app.
- Feedback from each sessions shaped future sessions, ensuring the needs of participants were met.
- Easy Read resources were produced with a peer-led group to make sure the contents were appropriate and relevant.
Democracy, voting, and registering to vote
Our What is democracy and What does it mean to vote activities ran in person in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf and online for participants across the UK.
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- A total of 19 sessions were held covering these themes.
- The Current Affairs group on our Insight app held a meeting covering these themes.
- 102 individual participants engaged with activities and sessions covering these themes.
How many people with learning disabilities have voted before?
We began each session by asking participants if they had voted before, and if they were on the Electoral register.
We discovered that:
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- Few of our participants knew if they were registered to vote.
- 70% of participants had voted in the last election and were proud they had done so.
- 2 participants in their early 20’s thought they could not vote and said they would be registering to vote in 2024.
- 1 participant in their late 40s said they had recently learned that they have the right to vote. They are now registered.
This meant that at least 70% of our participants are registered to vote. For the remaining participants, we encouraged them to approach their local council to find out if they were on the electoral register.
Only you can check the electoral register to see if you are registered to vote.
Voting in person – how hard can it be?
Voting in person can be difficult for many people, especially people with physical or learning disabilities.
From feedback, we discovered that almost all of our participants who voted have done so by post because it was easier and they felt more comfortable doing it at home.
We spoke to participants about the new voter ID requirements and found that most people had an approved ID, which was great to hear.
- Many participants said that the new voter ID rules was another reason to use a postal vote.
- 1 participant believed that the new voter ID rules are another barrier to voting for people with a learning disability.
Other reasons for not attending polling stations included:
- A room full of strangers can be anxiety-inducing.
- People felt unable to discuss details of the ballot paper with their support teams in the polling station if they had literacy barriers.
- At the last election, someone who wanted to vote was not allowed in because they had a support worker with them. They are voting by post in future elections to make sure this does not happen again.
3 ways to you can vote
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- Voting in person at a polling station
- Voting by post
- Voting by proxy
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Want to know more about your voting choices?
Where Do I Vote tells you where your polling station is, if the station has accessibility features, and information about who you can vote for
What do our Your Vote Matters participants know?
Over the course of a year, participants learned:
- What is democracy
- What does it mean to vote
- Why bother to vote
- Politic-themed Makaton
- The importance of making your own decisions
- Information about UK, Welsh, and Local Governments
- How to register to vote
- How councils choose priorities
- What the Police and Crime Commissioner does
- Rights and accessibility when voting
- How to vote
- What the different political parties are
Participants also got to take part in activities such as:
- Filming a mock election
- Meeting local councillors
- Visiting Cardiff’s Mayor
- A tour of Parliament
- A tour of the Senedd
- Visiting council chambers
- Even Santa votes – a holiday quiz
How accessible is our voting system?
Involvement in the filming of a mock election for use by all three councils enabled participants to be a part of a unique piece of work that they can be proud of.
It also allowed them to feedback constructive criticism directly to council officers involved in electoral processes.
- Comments included the size of text used in resources within polling stations and better separation of Welsh and English for ease of understanding.
- Feedback across the project raised that voting procedures are accessible in many ways, but the focus of adjustments has tended to be on physical accessibility. This included access to buildings and aids for people with sight loss.
- More recent changes have aided voters with intellectual disabilities by enabling voice reader apps and the ability to bring anyone for support.
- There is no space in polling stations put aside for that support person to explain the ballot paper in detail and the different parties and who is standing, in a way that people with learning disabilities can understand.
- Most of our participants said they used a postal vote to overcome these issues therefore avoiding the anxiety about the new photo ID requirement.
- Many people at our meetings asked why there was no online voting system yet. They wanted to vote online because they thought it would be easier to use and more disabled-friendly.
Easy Read voting resources
Our research found that other organisations already had excellent Easy Read resources and videos available on some topics.
Instead of trying to make more resources about the same topic, we have included links to them in our own Easy Read resources.
More feedback sessions took place that led us to prepare a series of 8 Easy Read resources available in English and Cymraeg.
Our Easy Read resources cover the topics of:
- Voting: important words to know
- The main political parties in the UK
- Ways to vote
- Accessible voting
- Registering to vote
- Governments and councils
- Photo ID for voting on election day
- Voting and making your own decisions
What has this project taught us?
If a true secret ballot is to exist, the voting system needs to be able to allow people with all abilities to cast their vote without the involvement of another person.
Individuals with a learning disability are especially susceptible to being influenced by others.
More emphasis on researching what is required to enable truly independent voting would benefit both vulnerable individuals and democracy.
Increasing the uptake of voter registration was something that we could not become involved with or measure aside from asking people.
This is because of the confidentiality of the voting system.
Individuals and their support network need to pursue this themselves. In most cases, for many people they will be relying on this network to see this as a priority.
We hope to see the Welsh Government’s proposal for automatic registration of citizens will mostly remove this barrier.
There needs to be better publicity and understanding that having diminished capacity in one area of a person’s life does not mean they cannot vote.
Families, carers and people with a disability themselves should all be aware of this.
In autumn 2023, our Project Officers met with the Electoral Commission to discuss the representation of people with learning disabilities in advertising.
Unfortunately, by the time of this meeting, the TV advert had already been cast with no representation.
Participants welcomed learning more about local government, its role, and what support they can get from their local councillors.
There was a great deal of support for local councils and the work they do.
The participants acknowledged familiarity with their local areas and then identified necessary actions.
They want to help but need help from councils to move forward.
If political parties want to diversify and recruit more voters for their cause, they need to provide clear and accessible information about their values that are always available. Not just last minute before an election.
Unfortunately, the lack of accessible information from political parties is a barrier for people with learning disabilities.
People with a learning disability want to make their voice heard in the electoral system.
