Accessible voting

Portsmouth City Council is committed to ensuring that the voting process is accessible to everyone. On this page you will find some of the ways that we make sure our polling stations are accessible

Our polling stations are accessible for anyone using a mobility aid, and we provide ramps where needed. Sometimes the ramp access may be at a side entrance, but it will be clearly signposted.

Inside the polling station, each set of polling booths has a wheelchair accessible compartment.

Every polling station will have a large print reference copy of the ballot paper, a magnifying sheet and a tactile voting device.

The tactile device has sticky backing, which attaches on top of the ballot paper. It has numbered lift up flaps (the numbers are raised and in braille) directly over the boxes where you mark your vote. The staff will explain how this device works and can read the ballot paper to you before you mark your vote.

You can take your phone into the polling booth to help you if you use assistive technology such as text-to-speech apps, a magnifier or torch.

In addition, McGonagle Readers are available for use on request. These are audio-tactile devices that are designed to support blind and partially sighted people to vote independently. Please see the section below for requesting a reasonable adjustment and we will arrange for the device to be available for you on polling day.

Guide dogs are welcome inside our polling stations.

If you have a disability or you can’t read or write, you can ask someone to help you to mark your vote. This can be a friend, a relative or personal assistant but they must be at least 18 years old. The person helping you will need to complete a short form which the polling station staff will help with.

You can also ask the polling station manager – known as the Presiding Officer – to mark the ballot paper for you.

Please ask if you need any support and the staff will be happy to help. We are proud to support the hidden disabilities Sunflower scheme, and our polling station staff wear Sunflower badges.

The staff can:

• Explain how the voting process works
• Tell you about the support options that are available
• Guide you to the polling booth
• Read the ballot paper to you
• Help you mark your vote if needed

Other items available at our polling stations include:

• Easy-read and pictorial voting guides
• Pencil grips to make the pencil easier to hold
• Coloured overlays (in a range of colours)
• Chairs for voters needing to rest

A voting guide has been produced in partnership with the Aldingbourne Trust to support voters with a learning disability or who are autistic.

You can contact us to request a reasonable adjustment at your polling station. This includes if you wish to use one of our McGonagle readers.

If you need any particular support, we also offer a ‘Voting Support Card’. The card says what assistance you need, and you can show it to the staff at the polling station so that they understand how they can help you.

Please call us on 023 9283 4074 or email us at elections@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Please let us know about your needs as far before of an election as you can. We will then get back to you to confirm what we can do to help you.

If you prefer not to vote at a polling station, you can apply to vote by post or appoint someone you know to vote on your behalf by proxy.

Find out more about Voting by post or Voting by proxy