Blogs14th October 2026
Shiu-Ming Man has been a part of My Vote My Voice for many years now, and this year levelled up his involvement by becoming a Democracy Champion.
A Democracy Champion is someone who helps the people around them to take part in democracy. Whether that’s having a conversation, supporting someone to register to vote, or delivering a session.
Shiu-Ming works as an Disability Advocate and Oliver McGowan Trainer for Choice Support. He’s passionate about making a difference for the wider community.
We sat down with Shiu-Ming to find out about the Democracy Champions programme and what it means to him.
What makes you passionate about democracy and voting?
I know what a difference we can make to the way the country runs, and improving things for all people by taking part in democracy. I want to raise more awareness for people with additional needs so that they know what voting is and how important it is. And whenever I can I want to help more people to be able to cast their vote and get involved.
But it’s more than that. It’s also about helping Support Workers understand and being willing to help even if they don’t vote themselves. That can be a problem and stops some people getting the support they need.
What do you think are the main barriers to people being able to register to vote, and to cast their vote on election days?
A major barrier is people not knowing where to go on election days; not having accessible information to help them understand. There’s still a lack of sufficient resources in accessible formats like easy read, for example, not reaching the people that need them in the wider community.
If you haven’t voted before there’s not lots of information to understand what will happen on election days, or if you’re ill on election days how to still cast a vote e.g. voting by proxy. And even the polling stations themselves are not always accessible enough.
What things would you like to see change to make democracy more accessible?
First thing is that there needs to be more knowledge for people to understand the whole process and the difference they can make: To understand the different parties, what they’ve promised, what a vote for that party means. We need to increase knowledge of postal votes, voter ID, and other ways to remove barriers to make it easier for people to take part.
I think there needs to be better clarity about what forms of ID are required, and what to use as alternatives if you don’t have a passport or Driving Licence.
There should also be more training for people working at voting stations and adjustments like quiet areas, disabled toilets etc.
The political parties themselves should publish easy read/accessible manifestos much further in advance and not last minute. They need to understand it’s not just ticking a box. They need to give people the information they need, in a way they can take in, and then give enough time for them to properly understand and raise questions.
What drew you to becoming a Democracy Champion?
I want to raise more awareness of issues and barriers, to increase people’s learning and to make sure Support Staff can be there for people who need support to be able to take part in democracy – this includes learning about parties and manifestos and things in advance to be able to make informed decisions at the polls.
How have you found the Democracy Champions programme so far?
I’ve done the training and got the toolkit. It makes me really passionate to get going – I’ve been to the Houses of Parliament and Cabinet Office talking about easy read manifestos and how this can encourage more participation for the disabled community.
At the cabinet office I could see people felt challenged by this need, and that they also need support to put together accessible materials to share. They sent an example of what they considered easy read, and there weren’t any pictures and there was still lots of jargon that would be too hard to understand.
I’ve been a key supporter of My Vote My Voice for some time but now as a Democracy Champion I am ready to make even more of a difference to people and get more people voting. And also sharing the importance of impartiality when helping people use their vote and voice. Not trying to influence people, help them to make up their own mind.
For anyone considering voting for the first time, what advice would you give?
I would say make sure you’re definitely registered to vote, and if not I’d help them to do that. I’d explain how voting works and the difference between local elections and general elections, that this happens at different times. I’d help them find out who their local MP is and who the current Prime Minister is. I’d help them identify their local polling station and check they feel comfortable getting there and accessing. If they asked, I wouldn’t tell them who I’m voting for, because I don’t want them to be influenced by me.
What would you say to people who think their vote won’t make a difference?
I have a lot of experience with this situation sadly! I always say every vote counts. It goes toward the final numbers and that can make a difference even in the future. It also gives you more of a right to comment on what is not going right at the moment and what you would like to see changed. Things don’t change overnight, so if there’s changes people want to see, they need to vote and then give people time to put things into place. It tells people in power what is important to us.
Any other things you’d like to say about either Democracy Champions, or about My Vote My Voice/Accessible democracy in general?
I’d really like to keep being a part of My Vote My Voice, because I get to speak my passions about politics and voting, and coming at it from the side of the disability community. I’ve spoken at conferences and done training, I’ve been on Channel 4 News, and I think My Vote My Voice is so helpful with all that its doing and I really enjoy it. It’s great spreading the word with my colleagues at work and helping my own organisation to improve.
Thank you to Shiu-Ming for this great insight. If you’d like to find out more about the Democracy Champions programme, visit our dedicated page HERE.