Politics of barriers can’t stand anymore

The Spanish Council of Ministers has recently approved a document about the participation of disabled people in political life through the election processes. The key points of this “regulation” are three: accessibility to election sites and polling stations, free-of-charge sign language interpreting services and, at the same time, a guarantee of accessibility of information and communication to election campaigns which must be supplied with subtitles and/ or sign language translations and accessible telephone assistance services. The last point concerns the implementation of a transport system for voters with motor disability if the polling station is not accessible by suitable public transport.

The Spanish Council deliberation is definitely helpful; indeed, it mirrors one of the pivotal principles of the Disability Strategy backed by Commissioner Reding a few months ago and whose actions are based upon the concept of accessibility, in all its forms, even informative.

What about Italy? As the legislature in the disability field has often demonstrated, Italy is already playing an active role in promoting the right to vote but with reservations. The first relevant law dates back to 1957 and it was updated by the recent law no.17 of February 5, 2003 entitled “Norme per l’esercizio del diritto di voto da parte degli elettori affetti da gravi infermità” (Rules for the exercise of the right to vote by voters impaired by serious infirmities) which sets that blind, hand-amputated, palsied people or people affected by other impairments of equal severity shall be aided in exercising their right to vote by a voter of his/her family or by a third party freely chosen by the disabled. The disabled is required to have a certificate confirming the disability, issued by the relevant local health authority. It is also specified that municipalities must guarantee a public transport service in order to allow the disabled to reach the polling station or, if it is not accessible, to vote in another polling station of his/her municipality. Also in this case, a medical certificate of disability is necessary.

In any case, municipalities are required to conduct an architectural barriers census of polling stations and they have to intervene in order to make the structures accessible; not only the building but also the precise place where the vote takes place must be practical for the disable citizen, with easily usable information and a guarantee of ballot secrecy. The same accessibility and functionality must be guaranteed to the disabled who decide to become a member of the polling station staff. Another pivotal rule is Act no. 22/2006 concerning the right to vote at home for some types of serious disabilities that impede getting to the polling station. This law was amended two years ago by Act no. 46/2009, providing for the possibility to vote at home only for those who cannot be moved. Yet  the bureaucratic procedure to obtain this right is much more  complex than we have described it so far: indeed, it is necessary to get the medical certificate by the local health authority, then to submit an application for voting at home to the municipality of the city of residence;  the municipality will evaluate the application and then will create a special electoral roll.

Let’s talk about a negative aspect now: no specific rules are provided for those who suffer from auditory impairment.

Unlikely the Spanish provision, in Italy there is not a regulation that gives deaf-mute people access to political information; only recently (16 March) the bill no. 4207, promoting the full participation of deaf-mute people in community life and recognizing the Italian sign language (LIS), was approved by the Italian Senate’s Constitutional Affairs Committee. We hope that the above said “ full participation” becomes the keyword of politics for the promotion of accessibility to rights for everybody.

(Translation: Francesca Cannino)