It has recently set up two subcommittees to study ways to make its websites, apps, and other communications more accessible and make voter registration easier for people with disabilities.
In response to the recommendations of the poll panel’s National Advisory Committee on Accessible Elections (NACAE), two subcommittees were formed that include election officials and disability rights advocates. According to the minutes of the meeting, the subcommittees will submit their reports by December 31 to the EC’s special officer for Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) and NACAE chairperson Ranbir Singh. As soon as Singh gets the reports, he’ll show them to the commission for “perusal”.
It is said that the subcommittee for accessible communication, headed by Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta, will make recommendations on improving accessibility features for EC’s apps, websites, SVEEP content, registration forms, etc. Also, the panel will assess the communication needs of differently-abled voters and develop an accessible communication framework.
West Bengal CEO Aariz Aftab will chair the second sub-committee, which will look at registering assistance-dependent persons with disabilities as voters. A panel would look at all the barriers differently-abled people face under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
