Access to Democracy Project

The role of the co-ordinator was to:

• Ensure that deaf people know about different voting systems and democratic institutions (for example, Local Councils, the Scottish Parliament, the UK Parliament/Westminster and the European Parliament)
• Ensure Deaf People have the opportunity to vote and also express views to their local councillor, MSP, MP or MEP

Many deaf people don’t know how to vote, how to register to vote, who to vote for or even why their vote counts - and that’s a big concern.

Deaf people should be able to access all of this.

This project was funded for two years by the Electoral Commission and produced:

• A DVD for Scotland, England and Wales explaining the different voting systems and the electoral registration process
• Website clips in BSL explaining voting systems and the electoral registration process
• A training pack for deaf and deafblind to become trainers to deliver workshops about the electoral process to deaf and deafblind communities
• Training workshops for deaf and deafblind Communities in Scotland
• Open meetings around Scotland
• Visits to deaf clubs and visits with deaf groups to talk about the project and specific democracy issues deaf people may have in their areas
• Drop-in surgeries for deaf and deafblind people to visit their local councillor, MSP, MP or MEP
• Special events – for example, Deaf Democracy Day at the Scottish Parliament, Deaf and Deafblind Local Democracy Days at the local council