“Ensure people with sight impairments can vote independently”

Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has called on the Welsh Government to take action to ensure that people with sight impairments can vote independently.

Speaking in the Senedd, Mr. Millar referred to a report which has shown that some people with sight problems are not voting because of their disability.  

Calling for a Welsh Government Statement on the matter, he said: “The Royal National Institute of Blind People published a report on barriers to those people with sight impairments in terms of their ability to cast their ballots at elections in a secret way. Many of those people who were subjected to a survey, 26 per cent, said that they currently feel able to vote independently.

“Clearly, we need to do something about that to make sure that our democracy, which was founded on a secret ballot, is something that people can participate in whether they have a disability or not.

“I would appreciate knowing from the Welsh Government what action they intend to take in order to address this, particularly at the next Senedd elections, given that they're looming.”

The Welsh Government's Trefnydd (Business Manager) said: “I will take this back, because I would say that it's the responsibility of my colleague Jayne Bryant as Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Housing, and myself, in terms of overcoming those barriers, particularly responding to the RNIB report, which, of course, we have to address.”