Cambridge City Council is dedicated to supporting all Cambridge voters to register and vote without facing barriers, and can provide a range of different equipment to help you vote in person if you have particular requirements.

The following equipment is available at all polling stations as standard on Polling Day, Thursday 7 May: 

• An enlarged copy of the ballot paper that can be taken into the voting booth
• A large-scale poster of the ballot paper
• A magnifying glass
• A low-level polling booth
• Pencil grips
• Seating for anyone who needs to rest for a brief time
• Supportive staff trained to help voters with disabilities

Additional equipment can be requested at polling stations by prior appointment, but will also be available as standard at this year’s early voting hubs (Meadows Community Centre, The Guildhall and Clay Farm Centre) on Thursday 30 April, Friday 1 May and Saturday 2 May, 9am-6pm:

• A ‘tactile voting device’ called a McGonagle Reader, to help blind and partially sighted voters to vote independently. It has embossed numbers and tab windows and can be attached to a ballot paper [see more information below]
• Sample braille copies of the ballot paper
• Portable hearing-loop systems

If you require any other assistive technologies at your polling station or early voting hub – including mobile phone apps – please inform the staff that you intend to use it to help you vote. The routine use of mobile phones is not otherwise permitted.

If you think you will need specific support in the polling station on election day, you can also take somebody you trust with you.

McGonagle Reader

At last year’s local elections, the council introduced a new audio-tactile voting solution – the McGonagle Reader – to support local residents with sight loss to vote independently. 

One local resident, Tahmina, had a positive experience casting her vote using the McGonagle Reader last year. Tahmina, who is severely sight-impaired, commented that using the device to vote was a “game-changer”.

Tahmina shared that casting her vote using the McGonagle Reader “made it possible for me to vote at the polling station and experience the sense of occasion of Polling Day just like everybody else – it felt really special and quite historic”. 

The device, which enables the user to cast their vote on the ballot paper using a combination of sound and touch, minimised the stress and uncertainty for Tahmina on Polling Day, ensuring she could cast her vote with total independence, confidence and privacy. 

“This is why accessibility is so crucial” she said, “it means that blind and visually impaired people don’t feel excluded from their basic rights!”

• Watch a clip of Tahmina using the McGonagle Reader.

The McGonagle Reader is available at Cambridge polling stations for the local elections on Polling Day itself, Thursday 7 May, by prior appointment only. 

However the device be available without an appointment at our Early Voting Hubs on Thursday 30 April, Friday 1 May and Saturday 2 May, although contacting the council’s Electoral Services team in advance will help avoid any delays to your voting experience at the hubs.

Contact us

If you, or someone you know, would like to request any of the reasonable adjustments provided by the council to support you to vote, please contact Electoral Services to discuss how we can best assist you. 

You can get in touch via phone on 01223 457048, or email: elections@cambridge.gov.uk.