DISABLED voters across the region are being asked to put forward their views on postal voting for the forthcoming European elections.

The charity Scope is quizzing people to find out how accessible postal voting is.

The disability group has been invited to carry out the survey by the Electoral Commission, which wants to find out about the experiences of people taking part in the all-postal voting pilots.

The results of the survey will form part of the Electoral Commission's report to the Secretary of State and European Parliament.

So by taking part in Scope's latest survey, voters can help influence future voting formats.

Ruth Scott, Scope's campaigns manager, said: "This is a great opportunity for disabled voters to have a say about their preferred method of voting.

"At the General Elections in 2001, Scope asked disabled voters to survey the physical accessibility of polling stations. Of 68 stations surveyed in the North West area only 29 per cent were found to be accessible.

"Piloting postal voting is one way of tackling this issue, but it may not suit everyone's needs. We want people to take part in our survey and let us know what they think."

Surveys,which are available on paper, in Braille, large print or on audio tape, can be obtained by calling the Polls Apart hotline on 01480 309621 or by logging onto www.pollsapart.org.uk where they can be downloaded or completed online.