The Tactile Ballot Paper Template - Assisting people with visual impairments to vote in private
The recent development of a new tactile ballot template means that many vision impaired or blind people in the country can now take part in the voting process in secret for the first time.
The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has produced the template following discussions with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and people with sight loss.
Essentially the new template is applied to the ballot paper by sticking it on, and importantly the design features clear non-decorative lettering, large print, good colour contrast, raised up letters, braille and the cut-out sections have a black border to assist people to find where to mark their vote.
A useful Frequently Asked Questions section is available on the NCBI website where answers to questions such as ‘How will I know where to mark the ballot paper?’, ‘Which comes first on the template, yes or no?’, ‘Will I have to stick the template to the ballot paper myself?’ are provided.
The template will be available in future referenda on request and ample templates are available countrywide in NCBI offices to be tried out in advance of the upcoming referendum.
For further details on the tactile ballot paper template click here.
Alternatively, if you need further information on how to ensure your organisation can accommodate people with sight loss, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on (01) 415 12 85 or e-mail [email protected].
