Accessibility in Polling Stations

At West Berkshire Council we want to ensure that the electoral process is as accessible to as many people as possible. There should be no barriers to voting for anyone. This page will outline some of the resources available and the steps we are taking to ensure electors' needs are met.

Polling station accessibility

Everyone should have the right to vote on their own and in secret. We offer a range of support and equipment to enable people to vote independently. The following provisions are in place at polling stations to support all of our electors:

Ramps where needed so polling stations are wheelchair accessible
Adapted level polling booths for wheelchair users
Tactile voting devices, large print ballot papers and magnifiers to enable blind and partially sighted people to mark their ballot papers independently
Pencil grips to attach to pencils when marking the ballot paper
You can take a trusted companion, who is over the age of 18, to the polling station to help you vote. They will be permitted to help you in the polling booth should you need them to, and will be asked to complete a form by the polling station staff
If you are unable to stand for long periods of time, seating will be provided so that you can wait where you are comfortable
Electors are permitted to bring along their own equipment to assist them in voting, such as coloured overlays to place over the ballot papers, or using apps on their mobile phone to assist with reading the information
Assistance dogs are welcome
Trained polling station staff are there to help and provide assistance to everyone. They can explain the process to you, along with reading out the ballot paper to you or marking your ballot paper for you if you need them to

If you would like to make a request before polling day for additional equipment or support in your polling station, please email vote@westberks.gov.uk

If you don't want to go to the polling station to vote, you can vote by post of proxy.