Deaf and disabled people are taking a voter registration bus to the streets of Ealing to ensure everyone is given the chance to have their say in the General Election.
Inclusion London and Ealing Unite Community are travelling down New Broadway to the town hall on Tuesday (April 14) until midday.
The Operation Disabled Vote bus will be equipped with voter registration forms in different accessible formats.
Traditionally deaf and disabled people have faced barriers to voting from polling stations that are not wheelchair accessible to a lack of information about candidates in accessible formats such as easy read and British Sign Language.
The move to individual electoral registration has created more barriers for disabled people who cannot access online registration and it is estimated that since the change-over a total of around one million voters are missing from the electoral roll.
London disability organisations have joined with Operation Disabled Vote, a national voter registration campaign, to encourage everyone who can, whether deaf or disabled or not, to use their vote on May 7.
Raj Gill, Chair of West London Unite Community, said: “Around one in three of the population is affected by disability and yet politicians continue to de-prioritise the issues that are most important to us. We would encourage deaf and disabled people and carers in borough to make they get out and use their vote on May 7 and make disabled voter power a force to be reckoned with.”
