Raft of Measures to Help You Vote in Person in Ribble Valley
A raft of measures is in place to help you vote in person at the forthcoming Ribble Valley local elections.
Ribble Valley goes to the polls on 4 May to elect councillors for the borough’s 40 wards.
And measures have been put in place at the borough’s 56 polling stations to help you vote in person, including large print sample ballot papers, tactile voting devices, magnifiers to increase the size of text on documents, wheelchair-level polling booths and pencil grips.
You can also take your phone into the polling booth to use a magnifier or text-to-speech app, or the phone torch to improve lighting, but please do not take photographs inside the polling station.
And from 4 May anyone over the age of 18 can help you cast your vote, even if they are not eligible to vote themselves.
Ribble Valley Borough Council chief executive Marshal Scott, who is the borough’s returning officer, said: “Everyone should be able to cast their vote in person without facing barriers.
“And we have been working hard to ensure people are able to play their rightful part in the democratic process by voting on their own and in secret at our polling stations.
“You can also now choose someone to accompany you to the polling station to help you vote.
“Or the person in charge of the polling station, known as the presiding officer, will be only too happy to help – feel free to ask.”
Council officers have also been out and about checking the accessibility of the borough’s polling stations.
Temporary ramps will be in place for wheelchair-users or anyone with difficulty using steps.
A full list of polling stations and their accessibility, including whether they have parking, is available at https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/polling-stations/polling-stations-ribble-valley or www.wheredoivote.co.uk
Notices inside and outside the polling station provide instructions on how to vote and each polling station has seating if you cannot stand for long periods.
If you do not want to vote in person, you can apply to vote by post or proxy at https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/homepage/85/local-elections-and-voter-id