Press release 20 - April 7, 2014 general election - A new measure will facilitate secure access to polling stations for persons with reduced mobility

QUEBEC CITY, April 2, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - In connection with the April 7 vote, the Chief Electoral Officer of Québec, Jacques Drouin, wishes to inform persons with reduced mobility that further to an agreement reached with the political parties represented at the National Assembly, they will be able to vote in a polling station other than the one they have been assigned, if theirs is inaccessible. The agreement completes the work carried out in the various electoral divisions of Québec to reduce as much as possible the number of polling places which a person in a wheel chair, for example, would find inaccessible.

Of Québec's 2,884 polling places, 34, i.e. a little more than 1%, will not be accessible on the April 7 polling day. This is down from 62 such polling places, or 2% of the total, which were inaccessible in 2012.

On the reminder card distributed throughout Québec this week, electors will find the address of the place where they can exercise their right to vote this coming Monday. It will be possible to find out whether it is accessible by calling 1-888-ELECTION (1-888-353-2846) or by consulting the Chief Electoral Officer's website at http://monvote.qc.ca/en/index.asp and providing the information requested under the heading "Where and when to vote?".

If the polling station is inaccessible, the elector may contact his or her returning officer so as to be able to vote at a polling station in the elector's own electoral division. Contact information for returning officers is available on the Chief Electoral Officer's website at http://monvote.qc.ca/en/doc_carte.asp.

SOURCE: Directeur général des élections

Stéphanie Isabel, Information Officer, 418-644-3320, 1-888-870-3320, [email protected]