EC asks 18-plus, service voters to enroll ahead of polls in Gujarat, Himachal and J&K

NEW DELHI: With the government having notified the amendments to election laws that, among other things, allow first-time voters to enroll based on four cut-off dates in a year – January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 -- the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the special summary revision of electoral rolls for Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir with reference to 01.10.2022 as the qualifying date.
The EC move is meant to provide all young eligible persons attaining the age of 18 years between January 1 and October 1 this year, as well as other eligible citizens not yet in the electoral roll, service voters and staff of Indian missions abroad, an opportunity to get themselves registered and vote in the impending assembly election in the three states.
As per the schedule drawn up by the commission, while draft publication of last parts of electoral rolls is scheduled for August 12 in respect of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, it will follow later for J&K on September 1.Also, the final publication of last parts of electoral rolls is scheduled for October 10 for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat and October 31 for J&K.
Usually, the EC waits until final publication of revised rolls before announcement of polls. This points to the scope of polls being announced in the two states and UT of J&K only in November. While this schedule suits Gujarat and Himachal where the term of the current assembly is expiring only in January-February 2023, it leaves an extremely narrow window for holding the assembly poll in J&K as the UT usually starts becoming snowbound by the second half of November.
In a letter written on Wednesday to the ministry of home affairs; ministry of defence; ministry of external affairs; directorate general, Border Roads; and the chief electoral officers of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and J&K, the EC noted that the electoral rolls for J&K could not be revised during the last three years on account of several administrative reasons and so the commission was now undertaking the exercise of preparation of electoral rolls w.r.t 01.10.2022 as the qualifying date, “so that all newly eligible electors can get themselves enrolled…without further delay.” It said the unenrolled service personnel were also being given a similar opportunity to register and update the last part of electoral rolls meant for service voters in the three poll-bound states/UT.
Service personnel are given a choice to either get themselves registered as a general elector at the actual place of his posting (other than forward stations) and residence or as a service voter at his native place.
The latest amendments to election laws had made gender-neutral a provision that earlier allowed only the wife of a service voter to enroll as voter in the same constituency as him. The voters, as part of the latest summary revision, will also be asked to furnish their aadhaar number, though this will be entirely voluntary.