Voting Matters: An Analysis of the Use of Electoral-Assistive Devices through the Lens of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Supervisors: Professor dr. Lisa Waddington, Professor dr. Mark Priestley, University of Leeds (United Kingdom)

Co-supervisors: Dr. Marcus Meyer-Erdmann, European Trade Union, Belgium

Keywords: voting rights, disability, technology

‘Voting Matters: An Analysis of the Use of Electoral-Assistive Devices through the Lens of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’

This study adopts an evidence-based approach and a mixed research design to explore the de facto realization of the right to vote by persons with disabilities, or the ‘opportunity’ to enjoy this right on an equal basis with others. To date, this has been a relatively unexplored topic of research, but the study ‘Voting Matters’ aims to bridge this gap. The focus of the study is on exploring the link between the provision and use of electoral-assistive devices (e.g., easy-to-read voter education guides and tactile ballot guides) by voters with disabilities and the positive obligations of States Parties under international human rights instruments, and primarily Article 29(a) CRPD. This study, which is a contribution to the research in the field of political participation of persons with disabilities.

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