ECI Directives To Make Voting Easy For PwD, Visually Impaired Electors
The CEOs of Bihar, eight other states and a UT have been instructed to make arrangements for polling stations with ramps at the ground floor.
Published : October 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM IST
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday issued directions to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) for ease of voting for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in the Assembly elections in Bihar and bye-elections in eight states and a union territory.
The poll body directive has asked the CEOs to ensure that the elections are made easily accessible to PwDs. "In Bihar, all polling stations will be located on the ground floor/road entry level and will have ramps with proper gradient for the convenience of PwD electors and senior citizens with wheelchairs. Also, it has been directed that PwD electors and senior citizens are given priority for entering polling booths," the directive states.
To facilitate visually impaired persons, the Commission has directed issuing Accessible Voter Information Slips with Braille Features, along with the regular Voter Information Slips (VIS). As per Rule 49(N) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, visually impaired persons can take a companion to cast their vote on their behalf at the polling station.
The poll panel said dummy ballot sheets in Braille will also be made available in all polling stations to be used by visually impaired voters to cast votes by themselves using the Braille facility on ballot units of EVMs without a companion's help.
The ECI has also directed that there should be a proper transport facility for PwD voters at the polling station on the day of voting. The PwD electors can also request transport and wheelchair facilities by registering on the Divyang (Saksham) Module of ECINET.
These facilities will be available at each of the 90,712 polling stations. Additionally, 292 polling stations will be exclusively managed by PwDs.
Elections to the Bihar legislative assembly will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11. The bye-elections for eight seats across seven states — Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir — are scheduled for November 11, with the declaration of results on November 14.
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