The EC has noted migrants’ inability to travel back to their place of registration from cities where they are staying for education, employment and other purposes. It has decided to devise a new plan that may involve remote voting among other measures
Representational Image. AP
To address the issue of voter apathy in urban areas, migrants’ inability to travel to vote, and low turnout at remote polling booths, the Election Commission has decided to devise a new plan that may involve remote voting among other measures.
What are the issues the EC is facing regarding low voting?
The EC has noted migrants’ inability to travel back to their place of registration from cities where they are staying for education, employment and other purposes. The absence of native voters leads to low turnout during elections.
The election body has also observed that people working with government, private sector offices tend to avail special casual leave on polling day but don’t go out to vote.
According to The Indian Express, which cites EC data, voter apathy is acute in urban areas despite high awareness about voting rights.
As per the Commission, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, only 67.40 per cent of the registered voters cast their vote. Rural and suburban constituencies like Dhubri (Assam), Bishnupur (West Bengal) and Arunachal East recorded the highest turnout with 90.66 per cent, 87.34 per cent and 87.03 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, urban seats such as Srinagar (14.43 per cent), Anantnag (8.98 per cent), Hyderabad (44.84 per cent), Patna Sahib (45.80 per cent) recorded lower turnout.
How is the Election Commission planning to address low voting?
To address the migrants’ issue to vote, the EC said that “time has come to explore possibilities of remote voting, maybe on a pilot basis”.
“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,” it said.
A committee would be set up to examine the issues of migrant voters. Given the fact that voters and political parties are the primary stakeholders, wider consultation with all stakeholders including parties would be started thereafter, it explained.
It also directed all central and state government departments, central and state PSUs and corporate entities with 500 plus employees to appoint a nodal officer. The officer will ascertain that employees who avail the special casual leave on polling day also go out to vote.
“It is kind of a name and shame as people in poll going areas get a day’s off under the Negotiable Instruments Act with the primary purpose of facilitating voting by employees,” explained a senior functionary.
The state and central governments always notify polling day as a paid holiday within the meaning of Section 25 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
The nodal officers will keep tabs on employees who skip voting and will urge the employer to send such employees for a special voter awareness workshop organised by the EC.
As per The Indian Express report, the EC will also direct all district election officers and returning officers to identify at least five lowest voter turnout booths in each Assembly constituency. The officers will identify the factors leading to low voting turnout and make targeted interventions to mitigate those factors.
Higher payment for polling officials at difficult areas
Empathising with the dedication of polling officials, the EC also announced that the personnel who perform election duty in remote and difficult areas will be given double the remuneration.
“Till now, the remuneration for polling officials used to be a uniform per diem amount for all alike. Chief Electoral Officers of the states and UTs shall specifically notify such polling stations for enhanced remuneration during election,” an EC statement said.
The decision has come days after Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar undertook an hours-long trek to a remote polling station in Uttarakhand, after which the poll panel decided to double the remuneration of polling officials going to such booths as early as three days before voting day.
To aid hands free movement in difficult terrain, the Commission has also decided to develop special water and shockproof, extra protective backpacks or cases to carry EVM-VVPATs and safeguard the machines provided to all such teams.
This is the third major decision taken by the EC in the last three weeks after Kumar took over as the CEC.
With inputs from agencies
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