Blind voter says voting privacy denied
BBCCurrent election rules deny blind people the right to cast a secret ballot independently, a blind member of an electoral authority says.
Johannes Martinson, of the Jersey Electoral Authority, visited 14 of the island's 19 polling stations during June's election to assess accessibility, after no budget was made available for a survey into barriers facing voters.
He said despite efforts to improve physical access, blind voters were still unable to mark their own ballot papers independently.
A survey into voting accessibility has been launched to gauge issues people faced while trying to vote in an island election.
Martinson said: "Currently the law states that I must use a person working at the polling station to assist me. I don't have a choice to actually get somebody on my own to help me."
He described the situation as "unacceptable" and said "somebody knows what I voted".
Authorities in Wales and Scotland had introduced tactile voting guides, including cardboard overlays that align with ballot papers and audio support, allowing blind voters to vote independently.
The Jersey survey, which closes on 15 November, is open to disabled people, voters aged over 65, carers and people who chose not to vote in June.
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