East Asia Disability Studies Forum 2023 4th Session: People with developmental disabilities and alternative access to information (including easy read) ■しかくtitle The Current State of Access to Easy-to-Understand Election Information: Considering Cases of People with Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities Satoshi Horikawa Ritsumeikan University/Kyoto Sangyo University 28 October, 2023 Seoul •Who can vote in Japan? Japanese citizens over 18 years old. •Who loses the right to vote? A person who has been sentenced to imprisonment or severer punishment and whose execution has not yet been completed. A person who has been sentenced to imprisonment for an election-related crime and is serving a suspended sentence. A person whose right to vote or be elected has been suspended due to a crime stipulated in the Political Funds Control Law. •Voter turnout among persons with disabilities Voter turnout (overall): 50.7 People with disabilities: 46.9 (Komae City Council election in 2023) People with mental disabilities: 50.4 People with physical disabilities: 47.5 People with intellectual disabilities: 37.7 The results showed a trend of lower voter turnout with more severe disabilities. (NHK news report 2023年7月31日) Chart: Disability and voter turnout in 2016 and 2020 (General elections in U.S.) (L. Schur & D. Kruse, 2021) People without disabilities 2016 62.2% 2020 67.5% People with disabilities 2016 55.9% 2020 61.8% Disability turnout gap 2016 -6.3% 2020 -5.7% Hearing impairment 2016 62.7% 2020 68.5% Visual Imparment 2016 53.7% 2020 59.2% Mental or cognitive impairment 2016 43.5% 2020 50.7% Difficulty walking or climbing stairs 2016 55.8% 2020 60.4% Difficulty dressing or bathing 2016 44.5% 2020 49.4% Difficulty going outside alone 2016 44.7% 2020 51.6% •What the persons with intellectual disability feel "I would like information about policies, candidates' personalities and achievements to be more easily understood." "I would like to have more information about them".(yajima, 1993) "I can’t understand manifestos of political parties because they don’t place reading aids for Chinese characters and many difficult things are written." "The letter about the election was so detailed that I could not locate the polling place."(Tateoka & Hashimoto, 2011) •Practical Examples to provide easy-to-read information Laws and treaties related to persons with disabilities Procedural documents to receive welfare and other services Information about disaster prevention and evacuation plan Practical advises about cooking, working, going to a hospital and so on Daily →Easy-to-read info related to elections is still very limited. •Legal basis for support in elections Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities Article 29 Participation in political and public life States Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others, and shall undertake: (a) To ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter alia, by: (i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use; Act to Promote Measures for Information Accessibility and Communication for Persons with Disabilities (adopted in 2022) Supplementary resolution by the Lower House The Government of Japan should take appropriate measures for the following matters in implementing this act.(iv) Necessary consideration, including financial measures, should be given to further promoting information communication accessibility, such as barrier-free documents to be submitted to administrative agencies, information support in times of disaster, improvement of information accessibility in elections, and barrier-free qualification examinations and other various examinations. •What information can we get in elections in Japan? Figure1: campaign broadcast official gazette for election election pledge media report •Support for persons with disabilities in elections The Ministry of internal Affiars and Communications (MIC) published examples pf local governments' initiatives in 2023. communication broad voting support card, "help card" easy-to-understand explanation about proxy voting letter about election with QR code for voice reading explanation video about voting precess and support which persons with disabilities can receive •Advanced case in KOMAE city, Tokyo Keyword "Barrier-free of voting and elaction information" voting = They provide oppotunities for voting practice. election information =1.Easy-to-understand candidates’speech meeting =2.Easy-to-understand candidates’policy booklet =3.Easy-to-understand candidates’policy short video figure2: Easy-to-understand candidatess' sppech meeting Easy-to-understand candidatess' policy short video Easy-to-understand candidatess' policy booklet •Points to note Neutrality of the organizer is emphasized so as not to influence the viewer's thoghts inappropriately The organizer doesn't alter the content submitted by the candidates. The organaizer provides candidates with reference information on how to make the content easier in advance. Voting practice is important for persons with deveropmental and intellectual disabilities to avoid nervousness in the actual voting process. •Overseas Cases Case of Uganda figure3: Booklet "ELECTION GUIDE: Easy-to-Read Elaction Guide" (UGANDA: February 2021) Table of contents of the booklet What are elections? Types of elections Importance and purpose of elections Who may participate in elections? How do I check if I am registered to vote? Qualifications for a candidate for Member of Pariament How do I decide who I should vote for? When can I vote? How should I vote? Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines Your choice is secret Cating your vote What should I do if I have a disability Election rules (a)Bribery (b)Publication of false statements (c)COVID-19 rules Making your own choice figure4: Case of the United Kingdom Booklet "The Green Party: Manifesto 2015[Easy Read version]" (United Kingdom May 2016) The Green Party would work for:- Friendly pulic services Action to stop the climate and weather from getting worses Fairness for everyone Helping local people and local businesses We need to find new ways to create electricity and to power our transport that dones not harm the planet. •Issues to be considered How do we know exactly what kind of assistance people with developmental and intellectual disabilities are seeking during the election process? How do we measure the effectiveness of the voting assistance? How do we think about the discussion on the necessity of the ability to make a judgement on political themes for voting in the context of right to vote for persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities? •References ・IFES.(n.d.). election access. Retrieved Sptember 14, 2023, from http://www.eletionaccess.org/en/ ・NHK, (2023, July 31). Shogaisha Tohyo Jittai Shogai omoihodo Tohyoritsu hikui Keiko ni Komaeshi ga Chosa [Komae City conducted a survey on the actual status of voting by persons with disabilities. The results showed that the more severe the disability, the lower the voting rate.], retrieved September 14, 2023 from https://www3.nhk.or.jp/shutoken-news/20230731/1000095367.html ・Schur, L., & Kruse, D. (2021). Fact sheet: Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2020 Elections. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/document_library/files/Fact_sheet_on_disability_and_voter_turnout_in_2020_0.pdf ・Takeoka,A., & Hashimoto, Y. (2011). Chitelishogai no aru Hito to Sanseiken [Person with Intellectual Disability and Suffrage]. In Shogai wo motsu Hhitobito no Shakaisanka to Sanseiken [Social Participation of People with Disabilities and Suffrage], edited by Inoue, H., Kawasaki K., Fujimoto, B., & Yamamoto, T., Kyoto: Horitsu Bunka sha, 42-56. ・Yajima, R. (1993). Chitekishogai wo motsu Hitobito no Seijisanka no Jittai [Political Participation of People with Intellectual Disabilities]. In Shogai wo motsu Hitobito to Sanseiken [People with Disabilities and Suffrage], edited by Inoue, H., Kyoto: Horitsu Bunka Sha, 69-86.

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