REGINA – Magnifying glasses, audible help and even braille ballots. All of these measures being taken to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.
Elections Canada worked with groups like the Saskatchewan Abilities Council to make voting accessible for people of all abilities.
“There’s an information officer and a registration officer who would be the first person to greet them, and those people will be aware of the kinds of aides that are available to them,” said Kelly Richter, returning officer for Regina-Lewvan.
This work begins long before the polls open. When Elections Canada chooses polling places the locations are subject to their ‘abilities checklist’.
This list contains things such as making sure making sure there aren’t barriers that could obstruct the visually impaired and there are no steep inclines for people with mobility issues.
“If they have an incline is it less than 4.8 degrees? We had a level to measure that with,” said Richter. “Are the entrance doors wide enough? Are they 32 inches so that wheel chairs can get in?”
Getting to the polling stations can be an issue for some, but there are options available.
One that is growing in popularity are volunteers giving people rides on behalf of candidates. All of the Regina area candidates, except for the Green Party in Regina-Wascana, will have some type of ride program on Election Day.
While this is helpful for voters, Jim Farney from the University of Regina Political Science Department said it is part of the political game.
“Voter turnout is around 60 per cent so if only six out of ten people are voting you really need to make sure that your part of that group is at the polls.”
He added that over the past decade the Conservatives have skillfully deployed these tactics and the Liberals and NDP are starting to catch-up.
The polls open Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. in Saskatchewan and will be open for 12 hours.
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