Presidential Election and Referendum Information for Voters who are Blind and Vision Impaired

Information for voters who are blind and vision impaired

Tactile ballot paper templates have been developed to enable you to vote independently and in secret in the Referendum and the Presidential Election. The templates will be used on the same ballot paper used by everyone. The templates stick onto the ballot paper.

The templates have clear and non-decorative lettering, large print, good color contrast, raised up letters, Braille and the cut-out sections have a black border to assist people to find where to mark their vote.

For the referendum template, there are two cut out boxes on the template, one for yes and one for no. The template is placed over the ballot paper to match the boxes to be marked on the ballot paper. 

For the presidential election template, there are six cut out boxes, one for each of the six candidates, the template is placed over the ballot paper to match the boxes to be marked on the ballot paper. You can find a list of candidates on the www.presidentialelection.ie or you can free phone 1800 26 10 18, which is the same as the date of the election making it easier to remember. You can call this number at any time including at home, at the polling station and in the polling booth. You might consider bringing something to mark to boxes that you have marked already such as blue tack or a 10 cent coin. This can be removed before you place your ballot paper into the ballot paper box.

Presiding officers have all been briefed on the different elements of the template and will give verbal directions before you enter the booth to mark the ballot paper. The presiding officer is advised to stick the template to the ballot paper and hand it to you or place it on the table in front of you, right way up.

The template will be available in all polling stations.

NCBI have templates that you can “try out” before the next referendum in each of our offices nationwide. Get in touch with your local NCBI office if you would like a demonstration of the new template.

For more information, please see: http://www.ncbi.ie/living-with-sightloss/know-your-rights/

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