The State Steering Committee on Accessible Elections (SSCAE) has been reconstituted ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Kerala on April 26 as part of efforts to ensure an “accessible and inclusive” electoral process for persons with disabilities (Pwd) in Kerala.
The 10-member panel is chaired by Chief Electoral Officer – Kerala (CEO) Sanjay Kaul and has nine members, including a senior election official, members from government departments and agencies and organisations representing differently abled persons, according to a March 13 order issued by the Election department, the Government of Kerala.
“The committee has the mandate of overseeing what kind of facilities are there for PwD voters and to advise how these facilities can be best put to use,” Mr. Kaul said.
The panel will coordinate with the District Collectors who are also the District Election Officers.
Vote-from-home facility
As per the latest figures released by the office of the CEO, the 2,62,949 PwD voters figure in the electoral rolls. The Election Commission has already announced that people with 40% disability can, along with voters aged above 85 years, opt for the vote-from-home facility.
Government officers in the panel include the Additional CEO and Additional Secretary, Election department, the State Disability Commissioner, the Director and the Joint Secretary of the Social Justice department, and the Deputy Collector (Election) Thiruvananthapuram.
Other members include the president of the Kerala Handicapped Welfare Association, the Differently Abled Persons Welfare Federation, the Differently Abled People’s Congress, and the general secretary of the Rashtriya Vikalangha Sangh.
In August 2023, the Election Commission had issued detailed directions to CEOs of States and Union Territories regarding the identification, enrolment and mapping of PwD voters. These required election officials in the States/UTs to maintain separate polling station-wise lists on such voters. ‘Assured minimum facilities’ for them at polling stations include wheelchairs, ramps, accessible toilets, signages, special volunteers, separate queues and electronic voting machines featuring Braille.
While announcing the election dates, the Election Commission had also issued a direction that in order to ensure ease of participation and active engagement of persons with disabilities in the electoral process, the commission has directed to issue ‘Accessible Voter Information Slips’ with Braille features to voters with visual impairment, along with the normal slips.
