Election Commission to explore possibility of remote voting for migrant voters on pilot basis

A view of Election Commission of India office in New Delhi. (File Image: PTI)

The Election Commission of India said on June 7 that it will explore possibilities of remote voting for people who move to other cities and towns for education, employment and other purposes. The poll panel said that the concept can be started on a pilot basis.

A committee would be set up to this effect to examine the issues of migrant voters, the commission said. A wider consultation would be started with voters and political parties thereafter since they are the primary stakeholders, the panel said.

“Voters migrate from the place of their registration to cities and other places for education, employment and other purposes. It becomes difficult for them to return to their registered polling stations to cast their vote. The Commission felt that time has come to explore possibilities of remote voting, maybe on a pilot basis,” the Election Commission said in a press communiqué.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the poll panel on June 7 under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.

The poll panel has been mulling  remote voting over the last few years. A similar announcement was made in March 2021 by the then CEC Sunil Arora who had said the remote voting facility could be launched in the 2024 general elections.

Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey was also present at the meeting on Tuesday, three days after the CEC trekked for 18 kilometres to the remote polling booths in Dumak and Kalgoth village of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district to assess the challenges faced by polling parties in hilly areas.

The CEC, during the interaction with the villagers, was informed that remote areas like Dumak  had a 71.14 per cent voter turnout and Kalgoth village recorded 80.45 per cent voter turnout in recent elections. It was further noted that in villages like Dumak and Kalgoth, about 20-25  per cent registered voters were unable to cast their vote in their constituencies as they are required to move out of their village or state on account of their jobs or educational pursuits.

This situation, the panel said, opens up the opportunity to explore possibilities of much awaited leap forward to facilitate remote voting by migrant voters.

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During the meeting on Tuesday, the commission observed that in contrast during the 2019 general election quite a few urban constituencies witnessed less than 50 percent voter turnout. The panel expressed concern over the abysmally low voter turnout in some of the metropolitan and city areas despite the fact that polling stations are set up within two km for any voter in urban areas.

“All government/CPSUs/state PSUs/corporate entities with 500 plus employees, to appoint a nodal officer to ascertain leave availing but non-voting employees. Special voter education and electoral participation awareness sessions would be held for such non-voting members of these organisations,” the statement said.

Electoral participation awareness campaigns would be undertaken for young voters also.

Empathising with the dedication of polling personnel who perform election duty in remote and difficult areas, the poll panel, among other decisisons, decided to double the remuneration of the polling officials going to the polling stations three days in advance. Till now poll officials were paid uniform remuneration.

“Chief electoral officers of the states and UTs shall specifically notify such PSs for enhanced remuneration during election,” the commission said.