Easy home-based voting option for senior citizens and PWD voters

The Election Commission of India has given the option of easy postal voting at home by placing People with Disabilities (PWD) voters in a separate category of Absentee voters, following the motto of Accessible Voting, Safe Voters, and Pure Democracy. This option will definitely keep their passion for voting and contributing to the security of democracy intact.

The election process for 147 Karjan Assembly seats is currently underway after the declaration by the Election Commission of India. In the first phase, along with accepting the nomination papers till 16th, the office of the Returning Officer and the Provincial Officer, Karjan are filling up the application forms accepting the option of postal voting from the above category of voters.

Informing that a total of 4,520 voters of the above category including the elderly and the disabled have been registered at the 311 polling stations of Karjan constituency, Returning Officer KR Patel said, these voters can cast their votes at home within the stipulated time limit by filling up an option in Form 12D.

However, as per the rules laid down by the Commission, the voters in this category can easily obtain Form 12D at home, return the filled form, get the official postal ballot and deliver the ballot in closed cover to the Electoral System.

Accordingly, form 12 D is being delivered through 246 BLO’s to 4520 voters of the above category currently registered at 311 polling stations under the supervision of 31 supervisory officers.

So far this form has reached 4,185 such voters and the BLO’s continued operation on Sunday also. So far 149 voters have accepted the option of postal voting and returned the filled forms. Now only 335 voters in this category have to deliver the forms. BLO’s are collecting the filled forms from such voters. The concerned voters have to give the option of accepting postal voting to the electoral system by 13th October.

Many voters will accept this option and submit the 12D form properly and return it within the time limit, all the forms will be checked in the office of the Returning Officer as per the rules and the appropriate form will be validated. This is now done through the voting machine. But postal ballots are printed for voters who accept this type of option after the candidates have been finalized.

Under this arrangement, the polling teams appointed by the Returning Officer will deliver the secured postal ballots to the voters of the respective category, the application has been validated and the concerned voters will cast their ballots at the latest. The ballots must return to the team by November 2nd.

Remember that voting for this seat will be held on 3rd November 2020 from 7 am to 6 pm. Voting time has been extended as part of Corona vigilance. The counting of votes for the seat will be held on November 10 at the Polytechnic College, Vadodara.