A disabled student was left furious when a four inch step blocked his access to a polling station.
Wheelchair-bound Sam Smith says he felt like a "second class citizen" when he was left stranded outside Newcastle's Leazes Lane booth.
Sam, 20, had to rely on election staff to cast his ballot for him - and says he now has concerns as he didn't actually see his vote go into the ballot box.
He said: "I didn't even see the vote go in the box. I don't technically know if my vote has even been cast."
"It’s 2019 and disabled people are still treated like second class citizens."
Newcastle City Council has since offered its "unreserved apologies" to the Newcastle University student.
However, Sam claims this is the second time this year it has happened, after he was unable to access the same building at May's local council election, reports Chronicle Live .
Despite the Rosetti Studios station having a ramp, Sam - who lost the ability to walk aged 10 due to his muscular dystrophy - was blocked off by a four-inch step.
He also claims staff only spoke with him indirectly via his carer, which made the second year journalism student feel "pretty sad".
Following his ordeal he took to Twitter to vent about the "discrimination" he claims he faced as he tried exercising his democratic right in the Newcastle Central constituency.
"For the second time running I have been to my local polling station to find out it wasn’t accessible, it’s 2019 and disabled people are still treated like second class citizens," he tweeted.
Accepting the building "falls short" of its standards, a council spokesperson said it would aim to improve in light of Sam's difficulty.
“We are very sorry to hear that Mr Smith experienced difficulties in accessing his polling station today and we offer our unreserved apologies for this," a council spokesman said.
“In choosing polling stations we often have to use existing community facilities, many of which are not owned or managed by the council, and this can sometimes mean different accessibility standards exist.
“It is important that everyone is able to exercise their democratic right to vote and we aim to ensure that anyone who needs additional support to do so can get the assistance they need.
“While Mr Smith was still able to cast his vote, we accept that the lack of wheelchair access to the building falls short of the equalities standards we aim to achieve and we will strive to do better in future.”
However, for Sam, he fears the incident meant his vote may not have been confidential and going forward, wants access improved at all stations.
"I had considered doing a postal vote, but it is people's right to vote and the fact I am disabled shouldn't matter at all," he added.
