City Research Online

Abstract

Online voting platforms have been introduced in some locations as the solution to the many barriers to political participation that disabled people continue to face. Reading the experiences of disabled student voters on university campuses alongside broader trends in electoral reform taking place in jurisdictions across Canada allows us to attend to the dangerous ways in which conversations around access have been limited through virtual solutions that encourage the physical absence of disabled voters. This article situates these absences alongside other categories of exclusion–including groups who are formally disenfranchised–and recalls many unstated values that are active in shaping citizenship cultures. Probing online voting through a critical disability angle, we present a critique of techno-fixes that builds upon broader notions of accessibility and inclusion.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Disability & Society on 25 May 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09687599.2017.1324765.
Publisher Keywords:	Political participation, technology, disenfranchisement, substantive citizenship, online voting, accessibility
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JA Political science (General) T Technology > T Technology (General)
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

Export

Downloads