New Delhi: In a laudable move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made arrangements for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to vote from home in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Citizens above 85 years of age and PwDs with 40% benchmark disability can avail the facility to cast their votes without stepping out of their homes.
Over 81 lakh voters aged above 85 years and around 90 lakh PwD voters across the country can benefit from this pathbreaking initiative aimed to ensure inclusivity and accessibility of electoral process and bolster democratic participation.
In Odisha, the number of 85-plus voters who can avail of the home voting facility is 302,248, according to statistics made available by ECI . It includes 140,117 males, 162,128 females and 3 persons of third gender.
As for the PwD category, Odisha 522,805 voters 297,514 males, 225,242 females and 49 third gender voters.
How Home Voting Facility Works
Within five days of election notification, eligible voters have to complete Form 12D and submit it to the returning officer. PwD voters need to submit a baseline disability certificate with their applications.
The Booth Level Officer (BLO) is responsible for retrieving Form 12D from the elector’s place of residence after required documentation has been completed.
All candidates in the respective constituency receive a list of these electors to maintain accountability and transparency. They can choose a representative to supervise the process, if they wish.
Once Form 12D is submitted, voters are notified ahead of time of the planned visit, allowing them to be prepared to exercise their right to vote. Voters can receive notifications via SMS about the days when their home voting facility will be active.
A dedicated team of polling officials, along with security officials, will then visit the voter’s residence to collect their votes.
The entire process of voting at home is videographed for transparency.
Voters in the 85-plus and PwD categories have already began casting their votes for phase I and II of polling.
In Rajasthan’s Churu, 8 PwD individuals from the same family cast their votes from home, according to ECI.
In Chhattisgarh, 87-year-old Indumati Pandey and 86-year-old Sonmati Baghel, from Bastar and Sukma tribal districts, expressed their gratitude after availing of this facility.
In Maharashtra, polling teams travelled 107 km to provide home voting facility to two elderly voters in Gadchiroli district’s Sironcha town, an area affected by Left wing extremism (LWE).
