Karnataka (Year-2018)

The theme and focus of SVEEP, Karnataka has been “Inclusive, Accessible and Ethical Elections”. All efforts were thus  made to enhance the registration and voting of PwDs. Celebrities like Bharat Ratna awardee Prof CNR Rao, Rahul Dravid, Jnanpith awardee Dr Chandrasekhar Kambar, Ashwini Angadi, Girish N. Gowda- a para Olympian and others were roped in as State Icons.

In an effort to promote participation by PwDs, 26 Polling Stations were opened and fully manned by PwDs. 388 Polling Personnel with Disabilities contributed in polling station and election-related work across the State. Special camps were organized for registration of PwDs. Campaign resources including videos, films, posters and banners featuring Icons were effectively used in cinema halls, malls, print, electronic and social media to create awareness among the target group. Special postage stamp on the theme of inclusiveness were released and a special registration and voting guide for the visually impaired in Braille script was widely distributed. The Chief Electoral Officer, sent out Personalized letters in Braille to 1000 visually-impaired voters. A special software for reading WhatsApp and other social media messages was devised.

The State observed an improved turnout amongst its PwD voters as a result of its dedicated efforts.