The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights of European citizens but it is denied to many.
Andrew Doyle, from Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, has been part of a pan Europe project, launched in 2009 which has been addressing the problem that many groups in society are denied the right to vote as elections are not accessible to them. Andrew, who has a learning disability, has just this week returned from speaking at a high level conference in Brussels where he addressed key MEP’s and policy makers from across Europe about the recommendations of the project and how he believes election information can be made more accessible allowing all members of society the right to vote.
People who have learning, sensory or physical disabilities, as well as the elderly and those who have language barriers are often denied the right vote as electoral campaigns provide information which is complicated and hard to understand while the general set up of elections often excludes some citizens.
Andrew got involved in the project through the learning disability charity ENABLE Scotland. Andrew is an active member of ENABLE Scotland’s Annan branch. He is also a member of ENABLE Scotland’s local self advocacy group ACE and serves on the charity’s Scottish Council. ENABLE Scotland is Scotland’s leading learning disability charity.
Andrew also works with the Scottish Government and is a key member of the Government’s The Same As You? Implementation Group. The Same as You? was a ground-breaking review of services for people who have learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders and their families. The implementation group help to make the recommendations of The Same as You? happen, lead in planning and advising on the way forward, identify and recommend priorities for change and advise Ministers on how The same as You? is improving the quality of lives of people of all ages and their families.
The conference was summed by the Vice President of The European Parliament stating that it was his intention to take the findings of the project Andrew was part of to the European Parliament.
In 2007 Andrew was awarded an MBE for his work.
Andrew said: "Voting can have a massive affect on our lives. Everything about it should be easy to understand and do for all of us. All people have an equal right to choose their councillors and members of parliament. To do this you need to be able to understand the voting system sand what people stand for. So we need easy to understand info about voting and part manifestos. I am glad to have been part of this project that aims to bring us a vote”.
Lena Gillies of ENABLE Scotland’s said: "It is completely unacceptable that in this day and age certain groups in society are being denied the right to vote as the election process is just not accessible to them. One of the issues is the lack of accessible information. We saw this during the recent Scottish Parliamentary elections when our members, who have learning disabilities, found it particularly difficult to get easy read information such as party manifestos before the last minute. Through his work on the ADAP project and by speaking to key decision makers, such as those who attended the conference in Brussels, Andrew is helping to highlight what changes need to be made so everyone, regardless of age of disability, can exercise their right to vote”.