Voting in a Polling Station
We have endeavoured to ensure that all polling stations across the city are accessible by ramp or elevator to wheelchair and mobility scooter users. Every station is also equipped with at least one wheelchair accessible polling booth.
Once inside the polling station, there are clear instructions on how to vote, in both written and picture formats. Polling Station staff are trained to offer impartial guidance and maintain a stress free environment throughout the day. There are also a number of additional ways in which an elector can receive support. An audible ballot paper is available for the September 2023 Brooklands by-election. Please speak to a member of staff if you require any of the following:
- Tactile Voting Device (which attaches to a ballot paper to allow blind or partially sighted voters to mark their ballot paper with or without assistance)
- Braille or Large Print Ballot Paper (as a reference for blind or partially sighted voters)
- Ballot Paper Magnifier (a hand held device which allows an elector to magnify any part of a regular-sized ballot paper)
- Translations (of instructions on how to vote into another language)
- Assistance from a companion (or the Polling Station’s Presiding Officer who can join an elector in the polling booth and help them mark the ballot paper*)
*We encourage electors to bring a trusted companion to the Polling Station to assist them in voting if they would like to do so. If you require assistance marking your ballot paper, your companion and the Presiding Officer will need to sign a form before you can cast your vote. This is to ensure a formal record is kept of any occasion where a voter has been accompanied into the polling booth.
The Electoral Services Unit welcomes feedback from electors on polling day on any aspect of the voting process via forms available in all Polling Stations across the city.