New Delhi: This July, the Election Commission (EC) held a two-day National Consultation on Accessible Elections, aiming to make voting more accessible for people with disabilities. Yet it failed to act on recommendations concerning people with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities. Activists are demanding immediate action.Talking to The Wire, mental health activist Ratnaboli Ray lamented that “disabled people are not even considered voters, which is why there are no proper arrangements.”‘Specified set of rules, sensitisation needed’Noting that “each disability requires a specified set of rules,” she explained: “It is not that you make a ramp and give access to wheelchair users and that is enough. Wheelchair is not an equipment, it is not an accessory – along with it you need to facilitate a climate for meeting their other needs too.”People with psycho-social or hearing disabilities need interpreters, Ray said. Election staff also need to be sensitised: “The election staff needs to be trained in disability etiquettes. They need to be patient, should know how to deal with strange requests of persons with disabilities, and told to never call them names like ‘langda’ or ‘lula’.”She said a manual was prepared for the EC a few months ago with inputs from about 20 organisations, but key suggestions are yet to be implemented.Also read: Disability Activists and EC Work to Make Assembly Polls More Accessible‘Do not exclude persons with disabilities by labelling them as having unsound mind’Delhi-based disability rights activist Satender Singh, who is also a member of the State Steering Committee on Accessible Election (SSCAE), has charged that the practice of labelling some categories of persons with disabilities as having “unsound mind” was unjust.“Persons with psycho-social disabilities [mental illness] and intellectual disabilities [mental retardation, learning disabilities, autism, etc.] have equal voting rights, but because of ignorance and poor awareness they are excluded from the electoral process,” he said.Stating that “neither the EC nor the CEO is the competent authority to declare a person or voter being of unsound mind,” he insisted that only a competent court could certify someone as such after due process.“If anybody – irrespective of having a disability or not – is certified as being of unsound mind by the competent court, the respective person will not be allowed to vote by the EC. Otherwise, everyone has the right to be enrolled and vote, and this includes people with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities.”Singh also suggested to the SSCAE that to enhance the electoral participation of persons with disabilities, the “state icons” be chosen from among them.He said the selection would be easy as the Department of Social Welfare in Delhi, every years felicitates outstanding people with disabilities with state awards. And so, from among them the state icons may be selected.‘Resume data collection on persons with disabilites, have special enrolment camps’Singh has also demanded that the practice of gathering elector data – disaggregated into all 21 types of disabilities, as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 – be resumed. It was discontinued after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, despite being mandated by the EC.He said the committee has also been urged to organise repeated special voter enrolment camps for persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities living in residential areas, rehabilitation centres and places for homeless people.The state-level committee was constituted by the EC to have polling station-wise mapping of disabled electors, facilitating their enrolment and for creating a barrier-free environment for their participation in elections. These committees have also been mandated to train election functionaries on special needs of persons with diabilities.Also read: The Disabled as Vote Bank: Is it an Oxymoron?Several steps initiated, more neededSince 2009, the EC has set up systematic voters’ education and electoral participation (SVEEP) to facilitate voting by all citizens, including persons with disabilities. On National Voters Day this year, it declared ‘Accessible Elections’ as the theme for 2018.A number of steps have been mandated to encourage persons with disabilities to vote. These include adding Braille to electronic voting machines, constructing ramps at polling stations, and offering disabled voters priority entry to booths and wheelchair facilities. Even so, many people with disabilities remain uncovered.