#ENABLEtheVote
On average, only 30 percent of people who have a learning disability vote in elections. And, while 70 percent of people who have a learning disability want to vote, 60 percent find the process too difficult.
In contrast, 68 percent of the wider population voted in the 2017 UK General Election.
#ENABLEtheVote set out to make the voting process and politicians much more accessible to people who have a learning disability.
#ENABLEtheVote worked across the political spectrum, empowering people who have a learning disability to:
- have their say
- influence the debate on the issues that matter to them
- make informed choices about who to vote for
- increase the number of people who have a learning disability who vote.
We did this by:
- writing accessible literature about the election process
- organising hustings across Scotland where people who have a learning disability met their local politicians
- campaigning for all political parties to create easy-read manifestos
- asking politicians to #BeTheChange for people who have a learning disability.
And the result?
More than 80 percent of people who engaged with #ENABLEtheVote used their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary Election in 2016, and 91 percent used their vote in the Local Council Elections in 2017.
These are more than marginal gains, that we look forward to improving further as we head towards the next election.
