'Can't read' purple ballot, says disability charity

The charity says the purple ballot papers may make some text difficult to read

A disability charity has said purple ballot papers being used in a city's local elections could make voting difficult for the visually impaired.

Inclusive Norwich has asked for the papers to be redesigned, because it believes candidates' details are not clear enough.

Two party leaders at City Hall have also lodged an official complaint with Norwich City Council, saying there is not enough contrast between the text and the background.

The council said "impartial support" would be available for anyone finding it difficult to vote.

'Extremely odd'

Inclusive Norwich's vice chair, Rachael Andrews, said: “This is extremely odd and needs to be corrected as a matter of urgency.

“These ballots have to be redesigned or people will be very confused on election day.

“It’s fairly common sense that you would make the text as visible as possible. You can’t be confident that you’re voting in the way that you want if you can’t read the ballot."

A complaint has been lodged with Norwich City Council's chief executive

In their joint statement to the council's chief executive, Lucy Galvin, leader of the Green Party, and James Wright, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “We are concerned about the impact for people with any kind of sight impairment, and also those with dyslexia, colour blindness and older eyes."

Mike Stonard, leader of the Labour group, said: "We understand concerns raised by one of our accessibility groups in the city, but I'm assured that our returning officer has everything in place to provide a full range of support, if required."

Karen Davis, leader of the Independent Norwich Group, said: "Democracy needs to be inclusive for all. If people with visual impairments can't get to vote that's not fair."

The council said the ballot papers' colour contrast was not "as distinct" as had been agreed with the printers.

A spokesperson said: “We haven’t had complaints from individual voters.

"However, should anyone have any difficulty completing their ballot paper they can contact the elections team for impartial support. Every postal ballot pack includes full details of how to contact us for assistance."

Colours on ballots are not prescribed, but Electoral Commission guidance states the importance of using dark text on pale backgrounds.

A third of seats are being contested across the city in the vote on Thursday, 2 May.

A full list of candidates can be found here.