International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
Election commissions use IFES toolkits and checklists to audit polling-place accessibility and plan tactile ballots before elections -- enabling blind voters to mark ballots independently and officials to find barriers before voting day.
ENABLE Model location
What it is
IFES, based in Arlington, Virginia, works with election commissions in over 60 countries to advance the political rights of disabled people. The organization provides polling-station accessibility checklists, tactile ballot guide templates, Electoral Sign Language Lexicons for Deaf voters, and the Election Access Observation Toolkit for disability-inclusive election monitoring.1
IFES partners with organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), governments, and civil society to shift election accessibility from afterthought to requirement. By providing tools that election officials can use before voting day, IFES enables upstream intervention -- auditing sites, designing accessible ballots, and testing accessibility before disabled voters encounter barriers.2
Why it matters
IFES illustrates how builder-side intervention can prevent the need for navigator-side compensation:
The upstream shift: Without accessibility checklists and templates, election officials design ballots and polling places without disabled input. Blind voters then face ballots they cannot read independently; wheelchair users encounter inaccessible entrances. IFES tools move accessibility upstream -- before the election, before the barriers are built.
The secret ballot problem: For blind voters, the fundamental promise of democracy -- the secret ballot -- often fails. Without tactile ballot guides, blind voters must ask poll workers or companions to mark their ballots, disclosing their choices to others. IFES's tactile ballot templates restore independent, secret voting.3
The observation gap: Election observers traditionally focus on fraud and process irregularities, not accessibility. IFES's Election Access Observation Toolkit trains disabled observers to document barriers -- making accessibility failures visible in official election reports.2
Real-world examples
Multi-Stakeholder Working Group Conducts Polling Station Accessibility Audit in Macedonia
-- IFES
- In North Macedonia, the State Election Commission and partners used a modified IFES polling-station accessibility checklist to audit 2,733 sites before elections. The audit identified barriers and informed pre-election fixes -- upstream testing that prevents downstream burden on disabled voters.4
Blind Voters in Osun State Get Greater Access to Assistive Devices
-- IFES
- In Nigeria's 2019 Osun State Election, Stephen Oluwa Femi -- partially blind -- found no assistive devices at his polling station after hours in line. His only option was to share his ballot choices with a poll worker. IFES subsequently helped Nigeria's INEC distribute braille ballot guides, magnifying glasses, and wheelchairs, and conducted voter education workshops teaching blind voters to use these resources independently.5
Ballot Guide Developed for Blind Voters in Ghana
-- IFES
- The Ghana Electoral Commission and Ghana Association of the Blind jointly developed a tactile ballot guide with holes corresponding to ballot boxes and raised dots indicating positions. Funded by IFES, the template allows blind voters to mark ballots independently and secretly -- restoring the fundamental promise of democratic participation.3
What care sounds like (builder-side interventions)
Care involves setting accessibility requirements before elections, not after complaints:
- "We audited 2,733 polling stations before the election and fixed barriers in advance."4
- "We are incorporating tactile features into all ballot designs to make sure blind citizens can vote independently."6
- "Our procurement language for voting machines explicitly mandates accessibility standards."
- "Participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process provides the basis for mainstreaming their inclusion in all aspects of society."1 -- IFES
What neglect sounds like (builder-side failures)
Neglect involves treating accessibility as optional until disabled voters complain:
- "Accessibility for voters isn't a top priority for this election cycle; we'll address it in future elections."
- "We don't need to audit polling places for accessibility; people will figure it out."
- "The new digital voting system is faster, and voters with special needs can just bring a helper."
- "Blind voters are a small percentage; we can't justify the cost of tactile ballots."
What compensation sounds like (navigator-side burden)
Compensation describes what happens when election officials skip upstream accessibility work:
- "After standing hours in line, there were no assistive devices available to support me in voting independently. My only option was to share my choices with a poll worker."5 -- Stephen Oluwa Femi, Nigeria
- "I had to allow representatives from both political parties to read my ballot at the polling place just to make sure I was marking it correctly."
- "I had to file a complaint with the election board because the voting booth wasn't accessible for my wheelchair."
- "We organized a social media campaign to pressure officials to make changes before the next election."
All observations occur within the context of international election administration, where IFES works with election commissions in over 60 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.