British Deaf Association
The British Deaf Association (BDA) is the UK’s leading membership organisation and registered charity led by Deaf people, for Deaf people. Their mission is to ensure a world in which the language, culture, community, diversity, and heritage of Deaf people in the UK are respected and fully protected, ensuring that Deaf people can participate and contribute as equal and valued citizens in the wider society.
There were 18 attendees at the Deafroots Wellbeing group session from multiple ethnic backgrounds and with additional support needs. Initially, we showed them different types of photo ID that could be used for their photo Voter ID by visual demonstration.
What we quickly discovered was that the group didn’t understand what democracy itself meant. When we showed them pictures or when we demonstrated the different types of ID they understood what Voter IDs were but didn’t understand the purpose of having an ID. As the group was further behind in terms of understanding any of the democratic processes, we had to go back further and start the explanations at a more basic level – which seemed to improve the engagement as the session continued.
When we asked attendees if they were confident to go and vote, most of the members positively put their hands up as they said they now know what Voter ID is and what they need to show when taking part in the electoral polls. The more they learned about the electoral processes and the importance of registering, and being in possession of a Voter ID, the more questions they had about democracy and photo Voter ID.
I want more information sessions like this so I can ask questions and clarify points because you can’t ask a question to a video.
Event attendee, Newham, February 2023
I prefer to see demonstrations. So actually, seeing what type of ID is accepted such as a passport or driving licence really helps me. Plus, for those with visual difficulties, this makes it clearer.
Event attendee, Newham, February 2023
Blog by Robin Ash,
Equality and Rights Manager