Accessibility is an important integrity issue. All voters must have equal opportunity to cast their vote and this requires access to a polling site or to an alternative voting method. To
have access, they must be legitimate voters. In most systems, this means being registered to vote (see Voter Registration). Voters also have to know where their polling station is
located, and when it is open. Depending on the country, polling site locations are published in the papers, posted outside public buildings or advertised in another manner, such as announcements on radio. In some countries, a sample ballot is mailed to the voters, which provides the
address of the polling station and a phone number for those who require additional
information.
Problems can sometimes arise with voters living in isolated areas. In India, for example, the Election
Commission tries to ensure that there is a polling station within two kilometres of every voter and
that no station has more than 1,200 voters. In New Zealand, voter registration instructions
request rural voters to sketch a map to their homes on the back of the voter registration form so
that they will know where the voters live and where they should vote.
Voters in institutions or who are hospitalized can have problems accessing their polling station.
This is addressed in some systems through the use of Absentee Voting, and in others by using mobile polling stations. In Ireland, for instance, a special presiding officer
accompanied by a Garda (police officer) will bring ballots to immobile voters in hospitals and
nursing homes. 190
In the case of Canada, Elections Canada has worked to make voting as accessible as possible to all Canadian voters. The
Canadian efforts included improving administrative practices and amending
sections of the Canadian Elections Act. These changes included:
- the ability for voters to register at the polls on election day;
- polls open for 12 hours on election day;
- the use of a special ballot which allow Canadians to vote by mail or in person;
- guaranteed access to government buildings to set up polling stations;
- level access to most polling stations and premises, with a transfer certificate to a level
access station for voters with disabilities who do not have a level access at their polling station;
- use of mobile polling stations for institutions where seniors or persons with disabilities
reside;
- expanded the term 'interpreter' in the law to include interpreters for persons with
disabilities;
- expanded the 'permitted personal expenses' to include disability-related expenses incurred by
a candidate with a disability;
- training in accessibility and awareness by returning officers to help them identify the needs of
persons with disabilities in their electoral districts;
- voter education programmes to make the public more aware of the electoral process,
'particularly those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulty in exercising
their democratic rights';
- providing information in alternative formats, such as large print, Braille, audio-cassette and
diskette;
- putting information and special ballot registration forms on the Internet;
- toll free enquiry lines for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing;
- documentation for persons with disabilities;
- open and closed-captioned videotapes for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing;
- transportation of the ballot box from room to room to facilitate voting in hospitals and
certain residential institutions; and
- voting template for persons with a visual disabilities.
191
Ensuring easier access can also open the door to potential integrity problems. In the case of Ireland, 'the
law specifically prohibits a presiding officer from acting on any written instructions received from
a voter. The reason for this is that the written instructions may not represent the voter's real
wishes - someone else may have written them, for example.'
192
Ireland also notes that assisting voters takes time and that voters who need assistance should be
advised to go to the polls early. 'Assisting an elector can take time and the law, therefore, allows
a presiding officer to refuse a request for assistance during the last two hours of voting (i.e., the
busiest time) if helping one elector would delay or obstruct others. Presiding officers are reluctant
to use this power and sensible cooperation should make its use unnecessary.'
193
Transportation to polls
Transportation to the polls is another integrity issue. It is difficult for some voters to find a way
to get to the polls, especially if they are off public transportation lines. In some countries,
candidates or political parties can help provide transportation of their supporters to the polls to
vote. In the U.S., for example, it is legal for interest groups to provide payments to make it easier for voters to
get to the polls.194 In other systems, providing transport to the
polls is illegal. Transportation becomes an integrity issue if it is used as a means to bus voters
from one area to another for the purposes of manipulating the election outcome.
Access for observers
As monitoring the electoral process can be an important mechanism to guarantee the integrity of the electoral process, the access to polling locations by political party monitors and domestic and international observers is also an important integrity issue. To properly monitor the process, observers have to be able to easily obtain a list of polling sites
and their addresses, so that they can plan an adequate coverage during their observation. Observers also need to be provided with accreditation by the electoral management body so that they can have access to the interior of the polling stations (see Accrediting Observers). In most
systems it is illegal to deny access to an accredited observer or monitor.
Since, in some ways, the media also serves as a monitoring mechanism, their representatives also need access to polling sites for election coverage purposes. As with observers, they need to receive proper official accreditation from the election management body to freely undertake their reporting responsibilities. At the same time, the media has an obligation not to disrupt election activities through their coverage, which is discussed in Media.
