Ensuring that Every Vote Counts (Disability Issues)
On March 17, 2008, Peter Hughes went to vote in a federal by-election. The polling station was located down a long flight of stairs. The solution? “I sat down on the edge of the stairs and I went down on the seat of my pants down to the bottom of the stairs while somebody carried my walker,” Mr. Hughes said. With municipal elections in the news, many ETFO members will have taken advantage of those teachable moments that arise when a student comments on a lawn sign, a television story, or a canvasser at the front door. You may have found yourself explaining how important elections are in providing individuals a voice and an opportunity to help shape the world they live in. With older students, you may have had a more indepth discussion about what it means to live in a democratic society with free and open elections. You may have pointed out that across the globe, millions do not enjoy these benefits.
Seven months later when Peter Hughes arrived at the same polling station he once again experienced the same barriers. And, because he lives in a democratic society, he filed a complaint against Elections Canada with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Last February, the commission ordered Elections Canada to revise its standard lease for polling stations to require that they “provide level access and are barrier free.” The commission also ordered Elections Canada to put in place a procedure to deal with complaints about accessibility at polling stations. Closer to home, not long ago, Elections Ontario issued a draft Site Accessibility Standard. Returning officers will use this document when they are selecting voting locations. The standard will eventually form part of a broader Elections Ontario Accessibility Plan. Physical access to polling stations is only one aspect of creating barrier-free voting. For example, voters with visual impairments have long pointed out the importance of being able to cast a vote in secret, without assistance from others, and in a way that they can verify their choices. Without these three elements, their right to vote is compromised.
In Ontario, there are considerable differences in the way municipalities run their elections, and hence the barriers confronting voters are different depending on where they live. What drives various levels of government to turn their attention to these issues? In part it is individuals like Peter Hughes who refuse to settle for second-class treatment, but instead use the power of the law to assert their rights. In part, it is growing awareness that far too many barriers to full participation exist even in 2010 – an awareness educators have a long history of raising among the children they teach.
