Assembly Election 2021: EC's special arrangements for differently-abled electors; all you need to know

For the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, the Election Commission has made several arrangements to ensure active participation of differently-abled electors who are marked as ‘Persons with Disabilities’ (PwD).

A major development for PwD electors in the poll-bound states is the extension of the postal ballot facility option to them in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility has also been extended to electors above the age of 80 and COVID-19 patients/suspects.

PwDs as absentee voters
Absentee voters wishing to vote by postal ballot have to submit an application to the returning officer (RO) of the constituency concerned through Form-12D. Such applications seeking postal ballot facility should reach the RO during the period from date of announcement of election to five days following the date of notification of the election concerned.

For absentee voters belonging to PwD category who opt for postal ballot, Form 12D should be accompanied by a copy of benchmark disability certificate specified by the concerned appropriate government, under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The RO will prepare a list of PwD and those above the age of 80 who have been approved for the postal ballot facility. A printed hard copy of this list will be shared with the contesting candidates of recognised political parties.

Polling station arrangements

All polling stations in these states are located at ground floor and sturdy ramps of proper gradient are provided for the convenience of wheelchair-bound differently-abled electors.

Further, in order to provide targetted and need-based facilitation to differently-abled voters, the Election Commission has directed that all PwDs in an Assembly constituency are identified and tagged to their respective polling stations and necessary disability-specific arrangements made for their smooth and convenient voting experience on poll day.

Identified PwD electors will be assisted by volunteers appointed by a returning officer or district electoral officer.

Additionally, polling personnel have been directed to give priority to differently-abled electors for entering polling booths, allot parking spaces close to the entrance of polling station’s premise and provide special care to electors with speech and hearing impairment.

The poll panel has also taken effort for the sensitisation of the polling personnel regarding the special needs of the differently-abled electors.

The Election Commission has directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to ensure proper transport facility for PwD electors in each polling station on the day of poll. Every PwD elector will be provided a free pass on public transport on polling day.

Braille voter slips
Visually-challenged electors will be given accessible voter information slips with Braille features in addition to the voter information slips. Voter information slips include details like polling station information, date and time of poll, etc.

However, these voter slips cannot be used as identity proof. For identification at the polling station, the electors should present their EPIC or any of the following EC-approved identification documents:
1. Aadhar card
2. MNREGA job card
3. Passbooks with photograph issued by bank or post office
4. Health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour
5. Driving license
6. PAN card
7. Smart card issued by Registrar General of India (RGI) under National Population Register (NPR)
8. Indian passport
9. Pension document with photograph
10. Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by central/state, government/PSUs/public limited companies
11. Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs

PwD mobile app
PwD electors can request for the wheelchair facility at polling stations via ‘PWD App’, a mobile application which is available for download on Google Play store and App Store.

They can also use the app to make several other requests such as to get marked as PwD, register as an elector, migrate their constituency, and make corrections in EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) details.

The Assembly elections for Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will be held in eight phases, from 27 March to 29 April. The counting of votes will be held on 2 May.