HYDERABAD: Around six lakh youngsters from Telangana state are likely to apply in advance for getting enrolled in the voters’ list as they need not wait to fulfil the criterion of attaining the age of 18 years on January 1 of the year.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has permitted teenagers who crossed 17 years to apply in advance to enrol as voters recently. Now, the youngsters can apply for an electoral photo identity card from November 9. Instead of January 1 of every year. The ECI has set the qualifying date of voters’ enrolment on April 1, July 1 and October 1 respectively.
The electoral roll will be updated every quarter and eligible youngsters can register in the next quarter of the year in which they have attained the qualifying age of 18 years. In this context, the ECI concentrated to create awareness over this advanced enrolment process among youngsters.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said that every year around two lakh new voters were added to the electoral rolls. “We are expecting around six lakh new voters to be added to the electoral rolls as the ECI permitted advanced enrollment for candidates who crossed 17 years of age,” he explained.
Every quarter, the new voters would be enrolled into electoral rolls and they could exercise their franchise in consequent elections, he explained. Replying to a question, Vikas Raj said youngsters could apply for votes at their native places. If they applied online, a booth-level officer (BLO) would inquire about the details, he added.
Vikas Raj said the youngsters who would attain 18 years of age as on January 1, 2023, could file their applications for enrolment, objections and corrections allowed up to December 8, 2022. The youngsters during three subsequent qualifying dates of April 1, July 1 and October 1 of 2023 could submit their claims in Form-6, in advance beginning from November 9, 2022, he explained.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic effect, electoral enrollment was adversely affected for the last two years, he said. “We are hoping to reach the average enrollment rate of every year in the coming days,” he said. Youngsters, who live out of their native places, were facing difficulty enrolling their details in electoral rolls and it would be sorted out soon, he assured.
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