More Than Voting Booths: Accessibility of Electoral Campaigns for People with Disabilities in Ontario

Authors

  • Mary Ann McColl Academic Lead, Canadian Disability Policy Alliance Associate Director, Centre for Health Services & Policy Research Professor, Rehab Therapy / Public Health Science Queen’s University
  • Alexandra Giancarlo PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Queen's University
  • David W. Shannon Barrister-and-Solicitor Executive Director, Hagi Community Services for Independence
  • Ulysses Patola PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba, History

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v4i1.189

Keywords:

Voting, accessibility, campaign, polling, election, website, booth, democracy

Abstract

Obstacles to electoral involvement for persons with a disability are not limited to inaccessible polling sites.  Meeting venues, campaign offices and constituency offices are all central to the effective functioning of Canadian democracy.   The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which the Ontario election campaign of 2011 “opened doors” to electoral participation for persons with disabilities.  The study used a survey and document review approach to compose a snapshot of election and campaign accessibility in Ontario in 2011.  Party leaders were polled to seek their official position on disability issues and accessibility in their campaign and their platform.  Thirty individual candidates were approached from each of the 3 official parties and from 10 ridings across Ontario.  Referring to the 2011 Ontario provincial election, candidates were asked about campaign offices, candidate meetings and website accessibility.   Websites and campaign materials were also reviewed for the three parties for any mention of disability or accessibility.  The findings from this survey suggest that there is a general lack of understanding of the imperative to achieve accessibility standards, not only of polling stations and booths, but also of political campaigns, if representative democracy in Canada is to include people with disabilities.  

Author Biographies

Mary Ann McColl, Academic Lead, Canadian Disability Policy Alliance Associate Director, Centre for Health Services & Policy Research Professor, Rehab Therapy / Public Health Science Queen’s University

Dr. McColl’s research focuses on disability policy, access to health care for people with disabilities, and spirituality and disability.

Alexandra Giancarlo, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Queen's University

Giancarlo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography at Queen's University. Her SSHRC-funded thesis research focuses on the cultural activism and racial politics of Louisiana's mixed-race rural Creoles. She also researches topics related to human rights, anti-racism, and disability studies.

David W. Shannon, Barrister-and-Solicitor Executive Director, Hagi Community Services for Independence

Barrister-and-Solicitor,

Executive Director, Hagi Community Services for Independence 

Ulysses Patola, PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba, History

PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba, History

References

Baker, P.M.A., Roy, R.G.B., Moon, N.W. (2006). Getting out the vote: Assessing technological, social and process barriers to voting for people with disabilities. The Twenty-Seventh Annual Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Research Conference. Washington, DC.

Bickenbach, Jerome E, and Alarcos Cieza. 2011. "The prospects for universal disability law and social policy." Journal of accessibility and design for all no. 1 (1):15.

Bowland, A. (2008). The 2008 Annotated Human Rights Code. Toronto: Carswell.

Davidson, D R., & Lapp, M. (2004). The evolution of federal voting rights for Canadians with disabilities. Electoral Insight, 6(1):15-21.

Elections BC. (2011). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on Recommendations for Legislative change. Victoria: Elections BC.

Elections Canada. 2011. Returning Officers Post-Mortem Sessions: 41st General Election.

Essensa, G. 2011. Accessibility Action Plan for the 2011 Provincial General Election. Elections Ontario. http://www.aoda.ca/accessibility-action-plan-for-the-2011-provincial-general-election/

Felske, A.W. and Krassioukova-Enns, O. (2006). Social change partnership: Advocates, business and government. In MA McColl & L Jongbloed (Eds.), Disability and Social Policy in Canada, (2nd ed.). Concord, ON: Captus Press Inc.

Human Resources & Skills Development Canada. (2008). Federal Disability Report: Advancing the Inclusion of People with Disabilities. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ocullakeheadpubpolicy/Doc?id=10270188&ppg=54

Henderson, H. (2006). Truly accessible meetings at last. Toronto Star, Toronto: Jan 7, L6.

Hughes, J.P. v. Election Canada (2010) CHRT 4 (CanLII) http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/chrt/doc/2010/2010chrt4/2010chrt4.pdf.

Irving, N. (2009). Overview of Complaints under Human Rights Legislation Regarding Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities. Prepared for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities CURA Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba.

Keung, N. (2006). Candidates Asked to Listen Up. Toronto Star, Toronto: Jan.11, B5.

McColl, M.A. (2006). Electoral Participation among Disabled People in Canada. In MA McColl & L Jongbloed (Eds.), Disability and Social Policy in Canada, (2nd ed.). Concord, ON: Captus Press Inc.

McColl, M.A, and Stephenson R. (2007). A Scoping Review of Disability Policy in Canada: Effects on Community Integration for People with Spinal Cord Injuries. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research: Kingston, ON: Queen's University.

McColl, M.A, and Stephenson, R. (2008). Scoping Review of Disability Policy in Canada: Effects on Community Integration for People with Spinal Cord Injuries. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research. Kingston, ON: Queen’s University Press.

Niemi, R and Weisberg, HF. Controversies in Voting Behavior. Washington, D.C: CQ Press, 2001.

Plouffe, D. (2009). Audacity to Win. New York: Viking.

Pleva, L. (2010). Updating Obama’s Campaign Promises on Disability. St. Petersbourg Times, St. Petersbourg: July 30.

Prince, M.J. (2007). Working Paper Series on Electoral Participation and Outreach Practices The Electoral Participation of Persons with Special Needs. Ottawa, ON: Elections Canada.

Prince, M.J. (2004). Canadian Disability Policy: Still a Hit-and-Miss Affair. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29 (1):59-82.

Prince, M.J. (2001). Canadian Federalism and Disability Policy Making. Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique, 34(4):791-817.

Prince, M.J. (2009). Absent Citizens: Disability Politics and Policy in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Sadava, M. (2006). Deaf Votes Feel Left Out at Forums, Interpreting Meetings Would Only Cost $200, Advocate Says. Edmonton Journal, Edmonton: Jan 18.

Schur, L. (2003). Contending with the 'Double Handicap': Political Activism Among Women with Disabilities. Women and Politics, Vol. 25 (1-2):31-62.

Schur, L., Shields, T., Kruse, D., and Schriner, K. (2002). Enabling Democracy: Disability and Voter Turnout. Political Research Quarterly 55(1):167-190.

Stienstra, D, and D’Aubin, A. (2006). People with Disabilities and Political Participation. In MA McColl & L Jongbloed (Eds.), Disability and Social Policy in Canada, (2nd edition). Concord, ON: Captus Press Inc.

Shields, T., Schriner, K.F., & Schriner, K. (1998). The disability voice in American politics: Political participation of people with disabilities in the 1994 election. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 9(2): 33-52.

Survey of Election Officers Following the 41st Federal General Election. 2011. Montreal: Leger Marketing.

United Nations Enable. UNCRPD. http://www.un.org/disabilities/ default.asp?id=150

Ward, A., Baker, P.M.A. and Moon, N.W. (2009). Ensuring the Enfranchisement of People with Disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 20(2):79-92.

Downloads

Published

2015-01-23

How to Cite

McColl, M. A., Giancarlo, A., Shannon, D. W., & Patola, U. (2015). More Than Voting Booths: Accessibility of Electoral Campaigns for People with Disabilities in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 4(1), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v4i1.189

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Articles

License

There are no article processing or submission charges for CJDS authors.

Author(s) are not required to assign their copyright in and to their article to the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies. Instead, The CJDS asks for one-time rights to print this original work.

All articles in the journal are assigned a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

Authors are asked to contact the journal Editor if they wish to post the article on any website; translate or authorize a translation of the article; copy or otherwise reproduce the article, in any format, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so; copy or otherwise reproduce portions of the article, including tables and figures, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so.

Contacting the Editor will simply allow us to track the use and distribution of your article.  We encourage use for non-commercial, educational purposes. 

Authors must provide proof of permission clearance prior to the publication of their work if they are including images or other materials that are not their own.  Keep in mind that such clearance can at times be costly, and often takes time.  The journal editor can often work with you to seek permissions if you need information, advice or assistance.