Blind voters’ rights

SIR – The right to a secret vote has been enshrined in law since the Ballot Act 1872. Remarkably, blind and partially sighted people are still unable to access this right. Four in five blind people say they cannot vote independently and in secret. They regularly report the humiliation of having to share their vote with polling-station staff.

The Elections Bill, on which MPS vote on Monday, weakens protections for blind and partially sighted people to vote independently. Removing existing arrangements means no guarantee of what to expect when we vote. The blind and partially sighted will no longer have the sanctity of a secret ballot enshrined in law.

We support the Government’s aspirations for improved accessibility for disabled voters, but this Bill will achieve the opposite for blind and partially sighted voters. We urgently call on MPS to vote for Amendment 2 of the Bill to keep existing protections. Anna Tylor

Chair, Royal National Institute of Blind People

London WC1