Blind voter argues at tribunal hearing that his accessible voting rights were denied

A hearing before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has begun for a blind accessibility advocate who is arguing Elections Ontario failed to ensure he can consistently and reliably mark, verify and cast his ballot independently and in private.

David Lepofsky filed a human rights complaint more than seven years ago after an incident during the 2018 Ontario election.

Lepofsky says he had tried to vote using Elections Ontario’s assistive voting terminal for voters with disabilities, but a poll worker inadvertently saw who he voted for.

Lepofsky argues Elections Ontario did not take sufficient action to ensure accessible voting, including before, during and after the incident.

He had said he also experienced barriers to accessible voting in Ontario elections since that June 2018 incident and that constitutes a continuing human rights violation.

Lepofsky argues that Elections Ontario violated his rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code to equal treatment with respect to services and facilities without discrimination because of his total blindness.

The hearing is set to take place over several days this week, with Lepofsky and Elections Ontario expected to provide final submissions later this month.