INVERCLYDE'S MSP is boosting awareness of the barriers faced by blind people taking part in the democratic process.

Stuart McMillan is sponsoring a event at the Scottish Parliament that will see MSPs invited to cast a ballot in a mock polling booth while wearing special spectacles that simulate different sight loss conditions.

Those participating will have the use of a tactile voting device, a thin transparent plastic template that fits over the ballot paper, available on request in polling stations.

The event has been organised by national sight loss charity RNIB Scotland and it aims to underline just how difficult it can be to vote in private and with confidence if you have a visual impairment.

Mr McMillan said: “We live in an age when technological advancements are happening all the time, so I do believe a solution can be found.

"But until we have electronic voting for elections, which other countries already use, we must continue to do all we can to support blind and visually impaired voters to vote in-person with confidence.”