While accessibility and assistance were largely seamless for Mumbai’s visually impaired voters, many hit a roadblock at a crucial stage — when it came to actually identifying candidates on the EVM. Once in front of the machine, several blind voters could only feel the serial numbers embossed in Braille. However, many reported that the mandatory Braille ‘dummy ballot’ — which lists candidates’ names, party symbols, constituency name and number, and other ward details — was missing at their booths.

“We need these Braille ballots to know who we are really voting for. The EVMs at several wards only had the serial number, but there was no way for a blind voter to know what that number stands for,” said Dr Vimal Kumar Dengla, secretary general, National Association for the Blind (NAB), India. Dengla confirmed that NAB had transcribed nearly 2000 copies of dummy ballots in Braille for 21 electoral wards, but there was no clarity on how many booths for blind voters each ward had. He added that the remaining wards had not made any request to NAB.