In a bid to increase voter turnout, the Government has decided to allow senior citizens (80 years and above) and person with disability to cast their vote through postal ballot. The Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, allowing senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list.
The absentee voter refers to a vote cast by someone who is unable to go to the polling station. Presently a postal ballot is available to Armed forces and those assigned to poll duties.
The poll officer will attest the absentee voter in the case of senior citizens and person with disability in the form 13A. “The system is designed to increase voter turnout. In some countries, the voter is required to give a reason for not going to the polling station, before participating in an absentee ballot’, said EC officials.
The Lok Sabha recently passed a Bill to allow proxy voting for NRIs. However, domestic migrants and absentee voters in India cannot cast postal votes.
Postal voting is done only through the “Electronically Transmitted postal ballot Papers (ETPB)” system, where ballot papers are distributed to the registered eligible voters and they return the votes by post.
The ETPBS has recorded a 60.14 per cent voting in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, higher than that recorded in 2014 which was only 4 percent.
Out of the total number of service voters in 2019, 10,16,245 were from Ministry of Defence; 7,82,595 from Ministry of Home Affairs (Central Armed Police Forces); 3539 of Ministry of External Affairs and State Police 267.