Scottish Election 2026: What was it like to vote as a disabled person?
A Scottish Election took place on 7 May 2026. People who live in Scotland were given the opportunity to choose which candidates they wanted to represent them as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Being able to vote in elections is important so that Scotland works as a democratic society where everyone gets a say about who makes big decisions for the country. However, the process of voting can present significant barriers for disabled people. A healthy democracy requires that everyone can participate equally, so Disability Equality Scotland asked disabled people what voting was like in 2026.
To do this, we ran three surveys:
- The first survey was for people who voted by post, which we launched in April.
- On election day, we released a second survey for people who went out to vote at a polling station.
- We also wanted to hear from people who did not vote in this election, so we released a third survey for non-voters on election day.
We have now looked at the results and are pleased to publish our report and Easy Read document on what it was like to vote as a disabled person in 2026.
Download the reports:
Scottish Election 2026: What was it like to vote as a disabled person?
Scottish Election 2026: What was it like to vote as a disabled person? Easy Read
Many disabled people report positive voting experiences…
Our survey results suggest that most respondents had a positive experience of voting at this election. In both our polling station and postal vote surveys, 7 out of 10 respondents said they had a ‘very good’ or ‘mostly good’ experience (72%), 2 out of 10 had a neutral experience (22%), and only 1 out of 10 had a ‘quite bad’ or ‘really bad’ experience (7%). Postal vote evaluations were less positive than for polling stations, but most were still positive overall.
…But full democratic inclusion has not yet been achieved
While many of our survey results paint an encouraging picture of disability inclusion at the 2026 Scottish Election, it is important to remember that elections must be equal and fully inclusive of all members of society. Unfortunately, our surveys suggest this has still not been achieved in 2026. We heard from disabled people who faced significant barriers to equal participation in the election, including some individuals who were unable to vote at all.
We urge all those who organise Scottish elections (Returning Officers) to address these points as a matter of urgency so that democratic inclusion can be fully achieved in future Scottish elections. No disabled person should feel locked out of electoral participation in a 21st Century democracy.