While efforts have been made to improve facilities at polling booths for persons with disabilities, there was quite a bit of disappointment reported by such persons with regard to their voting experience.

Voters with disability had to tackle issues such as steep or non-existent ramps, lack of railings along the ramps and unreachable EVMs and VVPATs.

M. Kamaraj, a differently-abled activist, complained of inadequate facilities. “At my booth in the police colony in Anna Nagar, I had to hold the railings and climb. We were promised facilities better than the previous elections, but I found that it was much worse,” he said.

In many places across the State, wheelchair-bound persons had to be physically lifted along with the chair to the booth.

In Medavakkam, the building housing 12 booths had ramps, but they put the final access past a foot-high step. As there were no volunteers, B. Meenakshi had to seek help from other voters to move. At AMM School in Kotturpuram, Ummal Khair said the voting machine was placed at a distance and was difficult to reach. Polling officials helped tilt the machine up to vote. “This defeats the purpose of secret ballot,” Ummul said.

P. Saravana Manikandan, joint secretary, Helen Keller Association for Differently Abled, who voted in Karaikudi, said this time he received very few complaints. “We could call for Braille and it was given 95% of the time. In some places like Arni, and at a few booths near Ambasamudram, awareness about Braille was low. We, however, needed a person to check the VVPAT machines. We could take one person along with us to check or ask the polling booth officer to check for us,” he said.
Visually-impaired voters who cast their vote in Gandhi Nagar, Tiruchi, found trained officers and Braille cards at their booth.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/disabled-friendly-physically-challenged-persons-continue-to-face-problems-at-booths/article26881319.ece