The population of the visually impaired in Singapore

1. 1.5% x 4.026 x 10^6 = 60,393 (visually & hearing disability)
2. No. of visually people in SG who opted out of the voting process → no info available

https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data

https://sadeaf.org.sg/faq-on-sadeaf-and-about-the-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing/faq-on-number-of-deaf-in-singapore/

https://www.spd.org.sg/about-us/disability-facts-figures/

 

Voting at Singapore’s presidential or parliamentary elections is compulsory for all eligible citizens but many citizens with disabilities face great difficulties in participating in the voting process.

1. Difficulties faced during voting process
   1. Participation in electoral process
      1. Election rallies are not necessarily planned with accessible routes to the venues.
      2.  
      3. Information about the accessible features available at election rallies and polling stations is not available on the Elections Department website and therefore not known to most people with disabilities.
      4. Election information and political party manifestos/campaign materials are not provided in accessible formats, for example braille, large text, easy-to-read, audio.
      5. The Elections Department and political parties’ websites do not comply with the Triple-A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines which ensure that webpages are easily accessible to those with disabilities.
2. Voting Day
   1. No braille voting cards

Propositions to improve electoral process

1. Participation in electoral process
   1. Reserved area at election rally venues
   2. Information Hotline: The Elections Department could create a toll-free hotline for persons with disabilities or their caregivers to request for accommodation or information about the elections. This line could be activated in the run up to the elections if it is not feasible to run it all year round.
   3. Publicise accessible measures on voting day at welfare organisations/NGOs
   4. ELD website to comply to Triple-A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
   5. The Elections Department and political parties’ websites do not comply with the Triple-A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines which ensure that webpages are easily accessible to those with disabilities.

Research Findings derived from: Publication by Disabled People’s Association (Singapore) in 2016, titled “Achieving Inclusion in Electoral Process”

https://www.dpa.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Achieving-Inclusion-in-Electoral-Process-compressed.pdf