You don’t need to vote – you’re crippled.
Disabled access is not required says Lowell Croken, PEI’s Chief Electoral Officer. His sanguine reply is wrong and speaks to the Tory government’s indifference to the rights of 19,000 Islanders with disabilities to vote today.
Mr. David Hayden, of North Rustico, was surprised to find no disabled parking at his polling station. David was the star of the Bootlegger’s Ball recently held at the Delta Prince Edward and a well known resident of the area.
Hayden called Sharon Labchuk, the leader of the Green Party, to check on disabled access at Polling Stations. Ms. Labchuk called Elections PEI.
“If we had to apply all of the criteria of Elections PEI to all of the poll stations, none of them would open,” said Lowell Croken, chief electoral officer.
He went on to say they were many other reasons why polling booths were not accessible.
On the Elections PEI website, they list the rights of citizens of PEI. One of them is
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS OF CITIZENS.
3. Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.
The site also points out that the disabled cannot be discriminated against based on their disability.
EQUALITY BEFORE AND UNDER LAW AND EQUAL PROTECTION AND BENEFIT OF LAW / Affirmative action programs.
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on …mental or physical disability.
If Mr. Croken doesn’t think it’s necessary to provide accessible locations for polling stations, how will the disabled vote? Is Mr. Croken aware that he is denying citizens their constitutional right to vote?
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