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Public Opinion Survey Following the March 19th, 2012 By-election in Toronto–Danforth (Ontario)

Accessibility

This section explores issues surrounding the accessibility of polling sites.

Nearly All Found Voting Location Accessible

The vast majority of voters (92%) described the building where they voted as very accessible, with nearly all the rest (6%) describing it as somewhat accessible. This is similar to the 2011 general election when 90% of voters said the building was very accessible and 8% somewhat accessible. The six respondents who described the building where they voted as not very or not at all accessible pointed to physical accessibility and insufficient parking to explain why they felt this way.

Perceived Accessibility of Voting Building
Text description of "Perceived Accessibility of Voting Building"

Sociodemographic differences

Electors with a disability (90%) were less likely than those without a disability (99%) to say that the building where they voted was either very or somewhat accessible.

Most Feel There Were Enough Directional Signage

Almost all voters surveyed (98%) felt that there were enough signs inside the building to help them find their way to the room where the vote took place. Slightly fewer, 89%, said that there were enough directional signs outside of the building to help them find the entrance to the polling station.

Perceived Sufficiency of Directional Signs
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As a measure of reference, the perceptions of the adequacy of the directional signs inside the building are consistent with the most recent general election (95%). However, concerning the directional signs outside the building, the result from the by-election the presents a higher percentage than that of the 2011 general election (82%).

Sociodemographic differences

Electors with a disability did not differ in a statistically significant manner from those without a disability in their perceptions of the sufficiency of directional signs either inside or outside of polling sites.

Half Did Not Notice Signs for Wheelchair Access

Slightly more than half of the voters surveyed (52%) did not remember seeing signs indicating that the polling station had level access for wheelchairs. A few respondents were unsure (11%). Conversely, nearly four in ten (37%) remembered having seen such signs. This result is slightly superior to that of the 2011 general election, where 33% remembered having seen the wheelchair access signs.

Recall & Visibility of Wheelchair Access Signs
Text description of "Recall & Visibility of Wheelchair Access Signs"

Of those who remembered such signs, 92% described them as at least somewhat visible, with 66% as highly visible. Very few (4%) felt they were not very visible.

Sociodemographic differences

Electors with a disability (52%) were more likely than others (36%) to remember seeing signs indicating that the polling station had level access for wheelchairs. When it comes to the visibility of these signs, there were no statistically significant differences between the perceptions of electors with a disability and others. However, the likelihood of describing them as highly visible increased with age, from 25% of those under 25 years to 88% of electors aged 65 and over.