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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | EC plan to raise turnout by Samanwaya Rautray

EC plan to raise turnout by Samanwaya Rautray

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published Published on Jan 22, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 22, 2011
The Election Commission has started a sample survey in five poll-bound states to get an idea of voter attitudes and clear misconceptions to ensure greater turnout at booths.

The exercise, being conducted by state chief electoral officers, will be completed within the next three or four weeks before elections are notified in Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Commission official Akshay Rout said a similar survey had been conducted in the run-up to elections in Bihar and Jharkhand and the results were heartening.

The turnout had shot up from a usually low 44-45 per cent to 53-54 per cent in these states following youth mobilisation schemes taken up by the commission, Rout said at a curtain-raiser media conference for the launch of the national voters’ day on January 25.

The day also happens to be the commission’s 61st foundation day.

The challenge in Bengal, the director-general (information, education and communication) said, was “how to cover the last mile” as the voting percentage in the state was already around 75 per cent.

Speaking on the earlier survey, Rout said lack of information was often a reason for low turnouts and cited some examples of misinformation that keep voters away.

He said a legitimate voter could cast his ballot even if he did not have an Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC). One could always produce identity proofs like bank statements and ration cards to vote, he added.

He also said presiding officers were under strict instructions to permit anyone who lined up at a booth to vote.

Most people think they can’t vote beyond the scheduled time, Rout said. But if a person has been standing in the queue, though the time limit has passed, he or she can still vote.

Commission sources said a voter could also decide at the last minute not to exercise his franchise. He should then return his voting slip to the presiding officer, who would get his signature recorded.

What if someone else has already cast your vote?

Commission officials said one could always, by showing his or her identity card, cast one’s ballot on a piece of paper and leave it with the presiding officer.

Speaking on the January 25 event, Rout said all new voters in the 18 to 20 age group who had entered voters’ rolls this year would get EPIC cards on that day.

“This is unprecedented and unique,” he said, as “millions would be issued their EPIC cards within 25 days of their name coming on the electoral rolls”.

The last revision of electoral rolls ended on January 1 this year.

The National Voter’s Day function will be launched by President Pratibha Patil at Vigyan Bhavan and will be attended by heads of election commissions from several countries.


The Telegraph, 23 January, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110123/jsp/nation/story_13479851.jsp


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