While arrangements for Mumbai’s visually impaired voters were largely smooth in terms of access and assistance, many faced difficulty at the voting stage due to missing Braille reference material at polling booths. Several blind voters reported that although Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had serial numbers embossed in Braille, the mandatory Braille dummy ballots required to identify candidates were not available at multiple locations.

Without these ballots, voters said they could only feel the serial numbers on the EVM buttons, with no way to independently confirm which candidate or party each number represented.

Braille Reference Material not Available at Booths

Election guidelines require polling stations to provide a Braille dummy ballot for visually impaired voters. The ballot lists candidate names, party symbols, ward and constituency details, and corresponding serial numbers used on the EVM.

However, blind voters said that in several wards, these Braille ballots were missing when they reached the voting compartment.

“We need these Braille ballots to know who we are really voting for. The EVMs at several wards only had the serial number, but there was no way for a blind voter to know what that number stands for,” said Dr Vimal Kumar Dengla, secretary general of the National Association for the Blind (NAB).

Limited Distribution Despite Preparation

Dengla said NAB had prepared nearly 2,000 Braille dummy ballots for 21 electoral wards ahead of polling. However, he added that there was no clarity on the number of polling booths in each ward that required the material.

He also said that the remaining wards had not placed any request with NAB for Braille dummy ballots, resulting in their absence at several booths.

Concerns over Independent Voting

In the absence of Braille ballots, visually impaired voters said they were forced to depend on verbal assistance to identify candidates, affecting their ability to vote independently.

Disability rights groups said the issue highlighted gaps in the implementation of accessibility measures at the booth level, despite the availability of guidelines and assistive technology.

They have called for better coordination between election authorities and organisations working with visually impaired voters to ensure that Braille dummy ballots are consistently available wherever required.

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