ECI provides home voting option for above 85-year-olds

Tirupati:Towards making every eligible voter to cast their vote in the ensuing general elections to state Assembly and Lok Sabha, Tirupati district administration has been taking on SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) activities in a big way. It is meant for educating the voters on various online and offline facilities available to voters.

The overall polling percentage in the state during the 2019 elections was 78 per cent while in Tirupati district it is only 67 per cent. The idea is to increase this percentage significantly by making everyone participate in the poll process.

Explaining various issues relating to the election process, Tirupati district collector Dr G Lakshmisha said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) provided a facility to senior citizens, aged 85 and above and those with 40 per cent disabilities to cast their vote from home using home voting facility or the postal ballot facility.

Such voters should make an application to the Returning Officer through from 12D based on which the RO will take a decision on whether to accept it. Once accepted, a team with two polling officials, a videographer and a security person will visit the concerned elector’s house and make him vote, maintaining secrecy. Such votes will be counted along with other postal ballots, he said. While the age limit was 80 years to avail such facility, recently the ECI has increased it to 85 years.

“The objective is to ensure an increase in the voter turnout. No one should be left behind and everyone should vote. The minimum expectation is to get more percentage than the previous elections,” the collector stated.

To bring awareness and confidence among voters to cast their votes even in hinterlands, the Collector has been going personally to meet the villagers and oversee the arrangements. He recently travelled in a boat across Pulicat Lake and then in a tractor to reach Irakam island of Sullurpet constituency where over 1070 voters were enrolled.

The collector said that special focus is also being laid on the critical polling stations which include some vulnerable stations. Out of 2,130 polling stations in the district in which about 360 – 400 stations may fall under this category where special forces will be deployed and web casting also to be made to prevent any malpractices

Dwelling more on the election process, he said, “The Election Commission is very serious on activities like meddling with the election process in which awareness is being carried out to the representatives of political parties during weekly meetings. If any malpractice is proved, it may go to the extent of disqualifying the candidate even if he wins. The parties are being alerted on such issues”.

Replying to a question on additions and deletions of voters from the rolls, Lakshmisha said that about 40,000 voters were deleted which are not necessarily fake voters but those who have migrated, died and changed their constituency. Similarly, another 40,000 to 45,000 new voters are added which include new voters, transferred from other constituencies etc.,