The government’s arrangements for blind and partially sighted voters at polling stations are unlawful, the High Court has held.
The judicial review, brought by Rachael Andrews, who is registered blind, challenged the use of tactile voting devices (TVDs), plastic sheets that fit on top of the ballot paper. Andrews argued that voters still need the help of another person to read them the candidates’ names and order of appearance.
The court agreed the device ‘does not in any realistic sense enable that person to vote’, in R (Andrews) v Minister for the Cabinet Office [2019] EWHC 1126 (Admin).
Leigh Day partner Sean Humber, who acted for Andrews, said blind and partially sighted voters ‘should be able to exercise their voting rights in the same way as everyone else―secretly and independently’.
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