The Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin has urged the Government to waive charges for applying for a postal vote "as a matter of priority".
Speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters, Art O’Leary said people applying for a postal vote because of illness or disability "must pay charges" to get it.
Ahead of the presidential election, "significant challenges" remain for voters with disabilities, he said.
"Democracy is only truly representative when it includes everyone," he said.
"That means ensuring people with disabilities are not just counted but heard," he added.
Mr O’Leary said 22% of people who voted in the local and European Parliament elections last year said they have a disability.
"Disabled people must have a say in those decisions not just as an afterthought but as active participants," he said.
He added that these people face physical, informational, attitudinal or systemic barriers.
"These obstacles don’t just deny individuals their rights," said Mr O’Leary," adding "they weaken our democracy".
He said ensuring accessibility at every stage of the voting process is important to uphold the rights of citizens.
This includes accessible polling places, plain language material, assistive technology and respectful attitudes.
He said new technology gives An Coimisiún Toghcháin an opportunity to improve turnout.
Meanwhile, Dr Aoife Price from University College Cork said people with disabilities "who make up 22% of the population" are identified as having extremely low participation in political and public life.
She said this "marginalisation" means they do not have the ability to contribute to the decision-making processes on matters that concern them.
Dr Price was one of the researchers looking into barriers to the local and European elections for people with disabilities and those that belong to different groups.
Seven disabled election candidates with intersectional identities who were contesting the local election participated in the research.
She said "intersectional identities" included gender, marginal status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, race, membership of the Traveller community and socio-economic background.
The academic said these candidates experienced negative attitudes from members of the public and even from political opponents.
She said they also feared violence during canvassing.
Dr Price said this was heightened by challenges "exiting risky situations in an accessible manner".
She said systematic barriers also emerged - around accessibility, access to information and communication.
