High Court vindicates right to a secret ballot in elections for people with visual impairment

Robbie Sinnott took a case against the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in 2014 asking the State to introduce measures that would enable him to vote in secret rather than through a ‘trusted friend’ or presiding officer.

The case ran for nine days before Mr Justice Tony O’Connor, who said the court cannot require the Minister to adopt a particular arrangement, such as a tactile voting device, for such voting.

However, it can make a declaration to guide the Minister about the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 1992 in conjunction with the duty under the Constitution to assure a secret ballot as far as is reasonably practicable.

The judge proposed declaring that the Minister had a duty to provide such arrangements where there are no disclosed reasonably practicable economic or effective reasons not to vindicate the right to mark ballot papers without assistance.

He was also prepared to declare the Minister has a duty to outline, in public, details of planned studies and regulations for the provision of arrangements to facilitate visually impaired voters to mark their ballot papers without assistance as envisaged by the 1992 Act.

The formal wording of the declarations will be made later after lawyers have considered the judgment. Costs issues will also be decided later.

As founding member of the Blind Legal Alliance, Mr Sinnott was supported in his case by the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), a project of FLAC which facilitated legal representation for Mr Sinnott by Eversheds Sutherland Solicitors, Michael McDowell SC, Michael Lynn SC and Ciaran Doherty BL.

Welcoming the verdict, FLAC CEO Eilis Barry said: “The right to vote in secret is a well-enshrined fundamental norm. The exclusion of people with disabilities from this democratic right is symptomatic of their exclusion from other core parts of life.”

Ms Barry said the proposed declaration that the Minister has a duty to outline publicly details of planned studies and regulations for the provision of arrangements to facilitate voters with a visual impairment to mark their ballot papers without assistance, is a new and welcome development for the rights of people with disabilities which should help ensure that the arrangements are as effective as possible.

Mr Sinnott thanked his legal team and FLAC/PILA for their support throughout his three-year legal battle, saying he had taken the case as a last resort following years of campaigning.

He said: “Advocacy is key for activist organisations, but sometimes, despite all the barriers, litigation is the only way to give focus to an issue. What sets PILA apart is that it empowers groups to access their rights by using the law, and I had great support from the team.”