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Feature image credit: AEC Flickr
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says they're committed to improving accessibility of voting services for Australians with disabilities. Powerd Media's Emma Myers sat down with Evan Ekin-Smyth, a spokesperson for the AEC, to discuss specific processes for voters with intellectual disabilities, and recent updates to electoral laws concerning outdated terminologies.
What accessible systems are in place for voters with disability currently?
We've got 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, 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. That can be things like it's got a smooth or even ground at the polling place entrance, a ramp, screens could be low levels of lighting or an alternative quiet room to vote in. It could be things like hearing loops, text to speech facilities. We really encourage people to look at that particular information to make sure they're assessing whether the polling place near them or which option near them will be most suitable to their circumstances.
And what about systems in place for people with an intellectual disability?
It really depends on the person's 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.
Before somebody even gets to the voting place, there is a conversation to be had about enrolment 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. 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. If it is determined that somebody can't understand the significant and nature of significance and nature of voting and the process, that's something that requires a medical certificate to get somebody off the electoral role. Now that can be for a range of reasons. It can be because of an intellectual disability. It can be for something like dementia as well.
There's no clear line there as to whether or not it applies to a person, and that's why it's a careful process with conversations involved with loved ones and medical evidence to support the decision as well.
Prior to this conversation we had another conversation about an update to the voting system in terms of outdated terminologies. What exactly has been updated?
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 somebody can understand the significance and nature of voting, but the terminology that it was attached to 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 role if they don't understand the significance and the nature of voting…but that piece of terminology, which is outdated and many people said was disrespectful is no longer in the electorate, which I think is a very good thing.
Image credit: AEC Flickr Account
Do you think what the AEC provides in terms of accessible systems for people with disability is enough? Or do you think there’s room for improvement?
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 voter 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.
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 is tricky for the AEC because we're such a temporary operation. We have about 7,000 venues 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. We'll keep on striving from election to do as much as we can.
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, and so that's a big thing in broader society. It's something that we need to look at when people are talking about the election process and who is empowered to vote or not.