Voters aged 80 or more & disabled can vote from home

NASHIK: The Commission (EC) of India has decided to extend the "postal ballot for absentee voters" facility to the voters aged 80 years or more as well as people with disabilities.
According to senior officials of district administration, the Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra has issued a letter asking the district election office to provide "postal ballots" to voters who are 80 years old (or more) and even to PWDs who have their names in the electoral rolls for the upcoming elections.
The ECI has decided to provide this relief to the voters who find it difficult to travel to election booths based on the feedback it has received.
"Whether it is citizens aged 80 years or PWDs - both usually depend on family members or others to take them to election booths. This is the biggest reason why these citizens often do not cast their votes," the officer said.
To increase their participation in the electoral process, the EC has decided to include them in the list of "absentee voters". The list already includes servicemen - who are posted away from their native place - and their immediate relatives.
"Since it is not feasible for them to travel, the government prints postal ballots for them and sends the same to the voters through email. They are asked to mark their votes secretly and send the same to the election officer within the stipulated time," the officer added.
A similar exercise will be carried out for the citizens aged 80 or more and PWDs who will get the postal ballots at their homes.
The CEO has also asked the district election officers to identify such voters in their district electors' roll and flag them.
"The district election officers will, through the booth level officers (BLOs), prepare the list of all citizens who meet the criteria and at the time of elections, postal ballots will be sent to them," the officer said.