Elections Canada has decided to go a different route this year regarding voting options for the disabled community.
Accessible Voting Machines used in the Provincial Election will not be used in the federal voting process
In a phone call with the London Branch it was said, the machines will not be available due to lack of use in the previous election.
In place of the machines, will be additional services. Such as, additional personnel for assistance, brighter screens, print-outs of candidates (also available in braille), and at home voting; though this has to be set up prior.
With all of these added services, members of the disabled community are still concerned for their privacy and independence.
Elections Canada Spokesperson James Hale says, “There are a lot of safeguards in the system as always. The system is one of both transparency and anonymity; and that is safeguarded in every step of the process.”
Although Elections Canada assures privacy will not be breached.
Hale says, “It’s an evolving process. We’ve developed a number of different tools and different services that are available for Canadians.”
The Federal Election takes place on October 19th.