Youngsters who are on the verge of turning 18 can now apply in advance to get their names enrolled in the voters' list and not necessarily wait to meet the pre-requisite criterion of attaining 18 years of age as on January 1 of a year.
As per the revised norms, modified registration forms for voters will have a provision for seeking their Aadhaar details. However, the Election Commission has stressed that no application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll will be denied in the event of inability to provide Aadhaar number and it will be collected completely on a voluntary basis.
The Election Commission has directed the electoral authorities of all states to work out tech-enabled solutions to ensure that youngsters who are 17-plus can file their advance applications with reference to three subsequent qualifying dates, which are April 1, July 1 and October 1 and not just January 1.
According to a statement from the Commission, the electoral roll will be updated every quarter and eligible youngsters can be registered in the next quarter of the year in which he or she has attained the qualifying age of 18 years. For the current round of annual revision of electoral roll, any citizen attaining the age of 18 years by April 1, July 1 and October 1 of 2023 can also submit an advance application for registration as a voter from the date of draft publication of electoral roll.
The Commission has initiated the process for bringing about necessary changes for preparation and revision of electoral roll of assembly and parliamentary constituencies. As per existing policy, revision of electoral rolls with reference to January 1 of the coming year as the qualifying date was done normally in the later part of each year in all states and union territories, normally in the last quarter of a year, so that final publication of the electoral rolls is made in the first week of January of the succeeding year. This meant that a large number of young persons who completed 18 years after January 1 had to wait for special summary revision of the next year for enrolment and were not able to participate in elections held in the intervening period.
The registration forms have also been made more user friendly and simpler. The newly modified forms will come into force on August 1. All applications or claims and objections in old forms, received before August 1 will be processed and disposed of and in such cases, there is no need to file application in new forms, the Commission said.
The EC has ordered annual summary revision of electoral rolls with reference to January 1, 2023 as the qualifying date in all states except the poll going states. Pre-revision activities include rationalisation and rearrangement of polling stations, removal of discrepancies of demographically or photo-similar entries, and preparation of supplements and integrated draft roll with reference to October 1 as the qualifying date.
The revision activities to begin in November include disposal of claims and objections received after publication of integrated draft electoral roll. Under the special summary revision, a one-month period is available to file claims and objections in the draft electoral roll. Special camps will be organised by chief electoral officers in the states on weekends for which the date will be publicised by them. The final electoral roll will be published on January 5, 2023.
As per the Commission's statement, for linking of Aadhaar number with electoral roll data, provision has been made in the modified registration forms to seek Aadhaar details of electors. A new Form-6B has also been introduced for collecting Aadhaar number of existing electors. The EC, however, said that no application for inclusion of name in electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in electoral roll shall be deleted for inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number.
The Commission emphasised that while handling Aadhaar number of the applicants, the provision under Section 37 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 must be adhered to and under no circumstances should it go public. If the electors’ information is required to put for public display, the Aadhaar details must be removed or masked, the poll body said in its statement.
A time-bound drive is being started with effect from August one, 2022 for collection of Aadhaar number of the existing electors. Furnishing of Aadhaar number is purely voluntary, the Commission said, adding that the objective of the programme is to establish the identity of electors and authentication of entries in the electoral roll.
