AEC to improve voting accessibility for Australians with disabilities.

Image credit: AEC Flickr account

Speaker 1 00:00

The Australian Electoral Commission have released data showing more than 98% of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote in the upcoming election, nearly 5% more than in 2022 the AEC says now, more than ever, they're committed to improving accessibility of voting services for Australians with disabilities, powered media's Emma Myers spoke with spokesperson from the AEC, Evan Eken Smythe, to discuss specific processes for voters with intellectual disabilities and recent updates to electoral laws concerning outdated terminology. Yeah, so

Evan Eken Smythe 00:39

we look really closely at accessibility of our voting services. Of course, we've got all Australians, 18 million plus Australians who are on the electoral roll who need to access voting services. So there's a range of things that we do to get accessible voting information to people. So people know how that it works, but also the services themselves, and we communicate that quite clearly, when people look up their polling place, there's a full page in terms of what each polling place has for accessibility. And that can be things like whether it's got a smooth or even ground in the lead into the polling places. Entrance, a ramp, a wheelchair accessible screen. Could be low levels of lighting or an alternative quiet room to vote in things like hearing loops, text to speech, pens. So there's a lot of things that polling places have, some of them, and we really encourage people to look at that particular information to make sure that they're assessing whether the polling place near them or which option near them will be most suitable to their circumstances.

Emma Myers 01:39

And what about systems in place for people with an intellectual disability? Yeah,

Evan Eken Smythe 01:47

so it really depends on person circumstances as to what they might need. One of the things that can happen at the polling place is that a friend or family member or a carer or even a polling official themselves can help an individual at the voting screen, and that's not to direct how they cast their vote, but to help them understand how to cast a formal vote and what the voting system is about. So that is one measure that is in place, of course, and before somebody even gets to the voting place, there is a conversation to be had about enrollment for people as well. There is a specific part of the Electoral Act of electoral laws that deals with whether somebody can understand the nature and significance of voting and casting a vote. We don't make that determination at the AEC. Of course, there is a process there, and it's a really delicate, sensitive one that involves conversations with friends and family members or carers for a particular individual and, of course, the individual themselves, but also if it is determined that somebody can't understand the significant and nature, significance and nature of voting and the process, that's actually something that requires a medical certificate to get somebody off the electoral roll. Prior

Emma Myers 02:55

to this conversation, we had another conversation about an update to the voting system. What has been updated?

Evan Eken Smythe 03:07

Yeah, electoral laws were updated earlier this year, effectively to change the terminology. There used to be a piece of terminology that's been in the Electoral Act for a long time, and it's about whether or not somebody can understand the significance and nature of voting, but the terminology that was attached to it was unsound mind. There's been conversations over many years about the fact that piece of terminology is perhaps not appropriate, and legislation was passed to take that out and broaden out how that is discussed. It didn't change the process. There's still medical evidence required to potentially get somebody off the electoral roll if they don't understand the significance and the nature of voting, that piece of terminology, which is outdated, and many people said disrespectful, is no longer in the Electoral Act, which I think is a very good thing. And

Emma Myers 03:52

do you think what the A C provides in terms of accessible systems for people with disability. Do you think that's enough, or do you think there's the room for improvement?

Evan Eken Smythe 04:09

The AEC does a lot in terms of accessibility, of voting services for different people's circumstances, and the information that we provide to people in a range of different formats, like easy english guides, Braille. We have photo interpreter services. We have a range of information materials, and we have a range of processes in place at the actual polling place as well. But more can always be done. We're always looking to improve. We did have a significant lift in terms of the number of polling places for this federal election that are rated as fully accessible. We had a 20% increase, and there's a range of criteria that assesses what that means. So we're proud of that increase, but more can always be done. We're always talking to our Disability Advisory Committee, who we consult with about what we do. It's tricky for the AEC, because we're such a temporary operation, we have about 7000 News, and they're temporary. Most of them, we have for just one day. So we're always looking at our services to seeing what we can do, but no doubt more can be done, and we'll keep on striving from election to do as much as we can. I think there's a big piece here as well. We've been talking a lot around whether somebody understands the significance and nature of voting and how that's a delicate conversation. There's a big thing here where assumptions can be made of different Australians who have an intellectual disability or are suffering from dementia or something like that. People can make assumptions about their capability, and I think that's a dangerous place to be. People want to be empowered, and people don't want those assumptions to occur.

Speaker 1 05:37

Evan Eken Smythe from the Australian Electoral Commission there, speaking with powered medias Emma Myers.