Confusion became the order of the day as voters made a beeline for the counters opened by different political parties to check their names in the final electoral roll online on Tuesday. Many who had Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and exercised their franchise in the 2014 elections alleged deletion of their names from the voter list.
Notwithstanding the claim by the district administration on distribution of voter slip to all the eligible voters, the voters alleged that they had not received anything till evening.
“I had voted in the last two general elections but I have not received any voter slip this time. However, I found my name on the electoral roll when I checked for it online,” K. Shanta Rao who lives near Girijan Bhavan said . He has been allotted a polling booth at Seventh Day Adventist High School.
However, many voters were disappointed as their names were missing.
“I have an EPIC but I have not received my voter slip. I went to the office of a political party at Seethammadhara. They checked and informed me that my name was not there. I asked them about the challenge vote but they said they had no idea about it,” D. Uday Kumar from Lalitha Nagar complained and added that many voters returned disappointed for the same reason.
Mr. Uday Kumar said that he had tried to register his name on the ECI web portal but could not complete the process for some issues.
G. Anita who is working as a volunteer at the counter opened near an MLA’s office in MVP Colony said that around 600 voters had found their names missing in the electoral roll.
The last date for checking voters’ names from the draft list released by the authorities was March 15. Though the government announced the release of slips through officials dispensing with the practice of getting it done by political parties, it was not implemented effectively, the voters allege.
‘Tender vote’
There is nothing much that a voter can do if his name is missing in the voter list contrary to the messages being circulated in WhatsApp groups that one can cast a ‘challenge vote’in such cases, official sources said.
WhatsApp messages are wide in circulation claiming that voters can cast a ‘tender vote’ if they find at the polling booths the someone else has already voted in their names.
The polling officer concerned would verify the identity of the voter and allows them to cast a ‘tender vote’ after examining their eligibility, the messages claim.
The voters in such cases are allowed to exercise their franchise through a ‘tendered ballot paper’, not through EVMs.
The officials concerned will have to keep an account of the ‘tendered ballot papers’ and record such electors in the Form 17 B, the messages add.
Sources, however, said there is no truth in the WhatsApp messages that if any polling booth records more than 14 % ‘tender or challenge votes, re-polling will be conducted.
Age proof
Voters in the age group of 18 to 21 years, who look less than to their age, should carry a valid age proof. The Presiding Officer at booths can obtain a declaration about the age as on January 1, 2019 and also inform them about the penal provision, the souces added.