Visually impaired to get training to cast votes independently

In a major step towards empowering visually impaired voters, the Department of Social Justice and the Kerala Federation of the Blind (KFB) have joined hands to help them cast their votes independently, without relying on proxy voting service.

Under the initiative, scientific training is being offered to visually impaired voters on using electronic voting machines (EVMs), supported by a team of 30 volunteers who recently completed their training in Kozhikode city.

“It was the visually challenged voters under KFB who sought formal training. Many of them are highly educated and wish to exercise their voting rights independently at polling stations,” District Social Justice Officer Anju Mohan said, adding that the exclusive programme is also backed by the Kerala State Social Security Mission.

According to the trainers’ team, KFB members remain active on various instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram, which will help them conduct their own online training sessions in the days to come for their visually challenged friends. The first round of master training held on November 19 has already inspired many members to prepare and circulate voice messages to expand the reach of the programme.

“In Kozhikode district alone, we have 375 members who are ready to undergo virtual training sessions. All of them use smartphones with voice assistance, making it easy to follow the lessons and join live demonstrations if they need clarifications,” said S. Noushad, district president, KFB. He added that being able to vote independently in the upcoming local body elections would be a proud moment for many visually impaired citizens.  

While EVM’s currently include braille markings to guide visually impaired voters, some KFB members have demanded additional features, especially an option to identify candidates’ names in an easy way. At present, the machines offer only a beep sound to confirm that a vote has been cast, they pointed out.

Mr. Noushad said the demand had not yet been formally presented to the election authorities, as discussions on the feasibility of such customisation for differently abled voters are yet to take place, with the earlier focus on proxy voting service. He added that he hopes future voting machines will be designed to address the special needs of visually impaired people across the country.