Voters with disabilities not properly assisted at the ballot box: Report

Some 40 percent of Dutch voters with visual impairment or with mental disabilities had trouble in the polling station during the parliamentary election in March, according to a study by the College of Human Rights. The Netherlands must do more to help these vulnerable groups cast their vote, the college said, according to RTL Nieuws.

Most of the trouble arose in reading and filling out the ballot paper, and reading practical information, according to the study. The College calls on the Dutch government to increase the elections' accessibility. This can be done by simplifying the ballot paper and making practical information available in comprehensible language.

For the visually impaired, it is important that alternative options are sought, such as voting by mail or with a computer. And the government should also look into changing the Election Law so that people with intellectual disabilities can have access to an assistant at the polling station, according to the College.