Our Findings Findings About Voter Registries: • The address-based voter registry system prevents the exercise of the right to vote for the homeless, women in shelter homes, seasonal agricultural, construction and tourism workers and those who are left homeless due to urban transformation; • After the voter registries are finalized, persons who have to change address due to mandatory reasons have no opportunity to cast a vote at their new address; • A large majority of the neighborhood headmen buildings where the voter registries are hung up are not accessible to the disabled and the elderly who have problems walking; • The methods used to announce the voter registries prevent illiterate and blind voters from checking them. This includes the method of hanging up the voter registries in print and access via the web site. The web site of the SBE is not accessible to the blind; • Procedures related to registration in and appeals against the voter registries as well as the methods used to announce them, assume that all voters are literate and have knowledge of Turkish; • The process of being erased from the voter registries does not require notifications to be made to the relevant voter. This results in voters being erased from the voter registry due to mistakes; Findings about voter training; • The printed material for voter training is not suitable for those who are illiterate, do not speak Turkish and for the blind; • The audio-visual material produced for voter training is not suitable for visually impaired and hearing impaired voters or for those voters do not speak Turkish; Findings about the materials used in the election process; • The voter certificates are not suitable for blind voters or for voters who are illiterate; • The voter certificates are not sent to the addresses of all voters; • The sign posts used in polling stations are not suitable for the blind and for those voters who are illiterate; • The ballots make it impossible for blind and illiterate voters to cast their votes independently; • The design of the ballots create inequality between political parties and independent candidates; • The design of the ballots put illiterate voters at a disadvantage if they wish to vote for an independent candidate; • The sign posts placed in the polling booths are not suitable for illiterate and blind voters; Findings about ballot box committees; • Disadvantaged voter groups are not represented when ballot box committee members are chosen. 25