‘People spoke up, and here we are’: Vancouver adds accessible voting locations following outcry

A demonstration of an accessible voting device is seen in a City of Vancouver YouTube video.

A plan to decrease the number of accessible voting devices available in Vancouver’s upcoming election has been reversed—in what disability advocates are calling a small but important win for the community.

The city’s election office previously proposed offering just one of the devices, which help voters with disabilities cast a ballot in privacy, including by allowing those with dexterity impairments to vote by blowing into a tube.

Instead, officials announced Friday that they will have five at separate locations across the city this year, up from the two offered in 2022.

“It’s five times what they were going to do,” said Gabrielle Peters, a disabled writer and policy analyst. “People spoke up, and here we are. It’s a tiny little thing but that’s what we need more of right now.”

Vancouver leases the accessible voting devices for $1,500 each, plus staff training, in an election with an estimated budget of $9.4 million.

The original plan was to provide the single device at the city’s election office at 305 West 8^th Ave., requiring some people with mobility issues to travel halfway across the city to exercise their right to vote, while most constituents can do so close to home.

Additional devices will now be available at the Dunbar Community Centre, the Renfrew Park Community Centre, the Roundhouse Community Centre and the Sunset Community Centre.

Peters noted Vancouver will still trail behind some other cities, including Toronto, which has one such device per ward. New York has one at every polling station.

• Related: Proposal for single assisted voting device in Vancouver election amounts to ‘voter suppression,’ disability advocate says

Being a disability advocate often means having to be “both glass half full and glass half empty,” she said.

“You have to be happy and optimistic about the fact that this change occurred at all, and at the same time not allow them to think this is a sufficient change,” Peters explained. “It’s 2026 and we should have them at every voting station, period, end of discussion.”

She also hopes the reversal will inspire more people to speak out about issues that affect their lives.

“It’s not a great thing that they did this—it’s a great thing that they were made to do this,” Peters said. “I hope that disabled people see these things and think, I’m going to make a fuss, I’m going to make a stink, I’m going to make demands, and I’m not going to sit here silently anymore.”

After concerns were raised over the proposal in June, city councillors unanimously approved an amendment put forward by Lucy Maloney to explore expanding the availability of the devices.

Staff cited low turnout for the original recommendation, noting there were only 10 users of the devices in 2014, two in 2018 and none in 2022.

Peters said the disabled people she spoke with prior to last month’s vote had been unaware the option existed, and argued it was incumbent on the elections office to spread the word through a targeted educational campaign.

As part of the initial proposal, the devices will be available from the first day of advance voting on Oct. 3 through election day on Oct. 17, much longer than the five days offered in the previous election.

Vancouver has also boasted a major expansion of advance voting in general, going from 22 polling stations in the last election to 60 this year, plus a nearly 78 per cent increase in workers to help manage lines, assist with accessibility and provide language support.