The people with visual impairments will be able to vote in private in the future legislative elections. The authorities intend to renounce assisted voting for this category of voters by using a patterned envelope that will contain the ballot, secretary of the Central Election Commission Andrei Volentir has told IPN.
The envelope will be perforated in Braille. The voters will finger the name of the candidate for whom they want to vote and will put the stamp “voted” on the left of the name of the candidate, where there will be perforated special holes. They will thus not need someone to assist them in the polling booth. After voting, the person will take the ballot out of the envelope, will fold it and will be then helped to put it into the ballot box.
The given voting method was tested in the municipality of Chisinau in the legislative elections of 2010. The Association of the Blind of Moldova is to present the list of polling places where visually impaired people will vote to the CEC so that patterned envelopes are sent there. The costs will be covered with money from the state budget.
Andrei Volentir also said they are discussing with foreign partners and donors the possibility of implementing a project to purchase ramps for the settlements where there are many people with reduced mobility. The central electoral authority also aims to standardize the polling booths and to provide special, larger booths for wheelchair users.
The date of this year’s parliamentary elections hasn’t been yet set officially, but politicians said the elections will most probably take place on November 30.
