Visually impaired can now vote unaided

Visually impaired can now vote unaided
EC makes available special ballot papers for Valpoi by-polls
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, OCT 11
With this by-election in Valpoi, the Election Commission(EC) is set make a record by providing Braille ballot papers to all its polling booths to enable visually impaired electorate to cast their votes without any out side help.
Goa will be the first State in the country to provide this facility to such voters, said N S Navti, Joint Chief Electoral Officer while speaking to Herald on Monday.
The Department of Printing and Stationary has been ordered to print Braille ballot papers. N D Agarwal, Director of Printing & Stationary told Herald that EC office has requisitioned sixty Braille ballot papers for Valpoi by-polls.
Braille ballot paper will contain the names of the candidates in numerical order and their party affiliations.
The voter will thus able to know candidates in fray on its own and cast his vote through EVM.
The EVMs used today though have numbers in Braille but names of the candidates and their party symbols.
As a result, today  visually impaired electorate is allowed a companion inside booth to help him read names of the candidates on EVM and vote.
But visually impaired electorate will now have a ballot paper in Braille to aid him which he will have to check at the booth to decide his candidate and accordingly press the button against the number of his candidate.
While Braille ballot papers will be made available at all thirty polling booths in Valpoi EC office is still not aware of exact of number of such voters in the constituency.
The department of social welfare is yet to compile information about such electorates.
“Some twenty days back we had contacted social welfare department but we were told that information has not been complied,” says Navti.