Blind doctor wins legal challenge against council over postal vote

A man who is registered blind has won a legal challenge against a council after it sent him postal voting documents which he could not read.

Dr Yusuf Ali Osman, 45, from Croydon, launched a challenge against Croydon council after he was unable to vote by post without assistance in two 2024 elections.

He said: “From my first vote in the General Election of 2001 right up until the General Election of 2024 I have never been able to vote independently and in secret.”

In the lead-up to the London General Authority Election in May, and the General Election in July, Dr Osman was sent hard copies of postal voting documents which contained no instructions or information in braille. 

This was despite the council being aware of his visual impairment.

Dr Osman owns software able to scan and read out plain text, but information contained in tables or images are often interpreted inaccurately. 

The software does not allow him to identify where on the ballot to cast his vote, or assist with marking it.

In order to vote by post, Dr Osman’s friend had to read out the contents of the voting documents and fill in his, before ticking the box of Dr Osman’s chosen candidate.

Dr Osman, who has a doctorate, said he tries to live as independently as possible, and found having to rely on someone else to exercise his fundamental right to vote “disempowering”.

Acting on behalf of Dr Osman, law firm Leigh Day sent a letter before claim to the council in August 2024.

Dr Osman raised concerns about the council’s failure to act on the needs of disabled voters.

He urged the council to provide visually impaired voters with documents in accessible formats, such as braille or in digital formats that can be accurately read by the relevant software.

And last month the council agreed to pay Dr Osman £750 in compensation, and confirmed that it would make reasonable adjustments for visually impaired people ahead of future elections. 

Leigh Day solicitor Carolin Ott, who represents Dr Osman together with Aurelia Buelens, said: “The right to vote is a fundamental constitutional right and disabled voters must be properly supported in their exercise of that right.”

The council also invited Dr Osman to be involved in consultations, including with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), to plan reasonable adjustments for visually impaired voters, and has invited him to discuss the challenges he faced.

Dr Osman said: “I hope that with the agreement with Croydon council I might finally be able to do this. 

“I’d like to thank my legal team for all their hard work and efforts and the willingness of Croydon council to find a way through this situation that will meet my needs and the needs of other blind and visually impaired people going forward. 

“I look forward to working with officers at the council.”

This comes after Dr Osman received £7,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), in a settlement in August 2023, after the government department failed to send him benefit letters in braille or as accessible PDFs.

A Croydon council spokeswoman said: “We take accessibility for all our residents, including those with disabilities, seriously and are sorry that reasonable adjustments were not in place.

“We are working with Dr Osman on this matter. We are reviewing what reasonable adjustments can be made for blind and visually impaired postal voters at future elections, that would enable them to vote independently and in secret, within the constraints of electoral law.”

Pictured top: Dr Yusuf Ali Osman who has won a legal challenge against Croydon council (Picture: Leigh Day)