Voting Independently: Thoughts on the McGonagle Reader By Wayne Senior, member of Outlookers.

On 12 March, I attended the Outlookers support group in Dewsbury. Sessions are held weekly at The 3 Strands Café next to Long Causeway Church. The group was joined by Katie Dennis and Amy Sanderson from the Electoral Services team of Kirklees Council. They demonstrated ways for visually impaired people to vote independently in elections. Blind people were able to try the McGonagle Reader, so I gave it a try. You can read about other accessible ways to vote here.

What is the McGonagle Reader?

For JAWS users who use the Vocaliser voices, “McGonagle” is pronounced “Macgonagle”. You can read my instructions on how to get JAWS to pronounce “McGonagle” correctly here.

The McGonagle Reader is a device which provides audio assistance to blind people. The audio comes out of the left of the device, unless you wear headphones. There is a button near the top that announces the list of candidates on the ballot paper.

There is a column of buttons on the right. Pressing each button reveals the name of the candidate, and the party (if any) for which the candidate is standing.

To the right of each button is a window or flap. To vote for a candidate, you lift the window. You will feel a square box. Draw a cross in the box. You won’t feel the cross, but the box is small. You could make a cross by drawing 2 diagonal lines.

If you are unsure whether you have opened the right window, you can press the open window down. It will be over a button, so pressing the window down will press the button.

How does the McGonagle Reader work?

Before you encounter the McGonagle Reader at a polling station, it has been with Electoral Services. They have added the list of candidates to each McGonagle Reader via USB.

There is at least 1 McGonagle Reader for each council ward. Each McGonagle Reader should display the list of candidates for the ward to where it has been sent. In Parliamentary elections, the McGonagle Reader would display the list of candidates for the constituency to which the ward belongs.

Your ballot paper will be correctly positioned underneath the McGonagle Reader, so your crosses appear in the correct boxes on the ballot paper.

How can I vote using the McGonagle Reader?

If like me you have voted by post in past elections, you will need to switch in time, to voting at a polling station. To switch to voting at a polling station, you need to send a letter to Kirklees Council, or an email to electoral.registration@kirklees.gov.uk, which includes your signature. If sending an email, you will need to write your signature on paper, photograph it, then send the photo as an attachment.  I have added details for this year’s election in the final sub-heading of this article, so it isn’t confusing for those reading this article after this year’s election. After switching to voting at a polling station, you will receive a letter with instructions on which polling station you should attend.

There are several polling stations in each ward, but there may only be 1 McGonagle Reader. If it isn’t at the polling station you have been instructed to use, somebody from that polling station will contact the most senior election officer for the ward, who will then arrange for the McGonagle Reader to be brought to your polling station. You may have to wait 30 minutes. If you are being assisted to access the polling station, I suggest ensuring you allow sufficient time. One positive about voting at polling stations is you don’t need to provide your signature on the ballot paper.

Could the McGonagle Reader be used more widely?

I think so. Charities and other community groups hold Annual General Meetings, at which they elect their management committees.   So there is definitely scope for this product to be used more widely especially if it could be made more freely available and less expensive.

I recently spoke to people involved in facilitating meetings attended by councillors. Currently, if a blind person was to become a councillor, they would need assistance to vote during council meetings. Kirklees Council has a number of McGonagle Readers. Most of the time, the business being voted on is decided in advance of meetings. The possibility of blind councillors voting using the McGonagle Reader should be explored. Perhaps blind people could be invited to volunteer as pretend councillors, to test voting using the McGonagle Reader in real council meetings. Kirklees Council meetings are public; the whole world can watch Kirklees Council meetings on YouTube.

Sometimes, there are secret ballots in meetings. This is so those who can vote are not influenced by how other people are voting. Without the McGonagle Reader, blind people may need to tell somebody how they wish to vote in a secret ballot, meaning that unlike the votes of those who can see, their votes are not entirely secret. If the McGonagle Reader is available in those meetings, blind people can also vote secretly.

Conclusion

The McGonagle Reader is a brilliant device. It allows blind people to vote with true independence. Once the McGonagle Reader is in position, a blind person requires no sighted assistance.

Elections are secret ballots. That means you shouldn’t have to tell anybody the names of the candidates or parties for whom you would like to vote. With the McGonagle Reader, you don’t need to tell anybody how you wish to vote. Using the McGonagle Reader, you can vote as secretly as those who can see.

2026 Kirklees Council Election

However you’re voting in this year’s Kirklees Council election, you must be registered to vote by 20 April. If like me you’re changing how you vote, this must be completed by 20 April. I have already changed to voting at a polling station.

Due to boundary changes, this year, all Kirklees council seats are being contested. Each ward has 3 votes. You are allowed to vote for as many candidates as there are seats. That means that in this year’s election, you can vote for 3 candidates. You can vote for 3 candidates from the same party, or candidates from different parties. You don’t have to use all 3 of your votes. You don’t have to use any of your votes. The McGonagle Reader could read a list of the candidates for whom you can vote, and you could decide you don’t want to vote for any of them.