5 assembly polls: What makes over 15 lakh youngsters eligible to vote?
For new voters registering to vote, 4 qualifying dates a year are applicable now, rather than just January 1, following an amendment
While announcing the dates of assembly elections in five states, the Election Commission of India on Monday (October 9) said there are around 15.39 lakh young voters who can participate in elections this time due to a change in the applicable laws.
This has been made possible by the amendment effected to Section 14(b) of the Representation of the People Act and consequent modification to the Registration of Electors Rules of 1960 last year.
The amendment was made to insert four qualifying dates – January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 – to allow new voters to register. Before the amendment, there was a single cut-off date – January 1 – for fresh voters to enroll. “Henceforth, the Electoral Roll will be updated every quarter and eligible youngsters can be registered in the next quarter of the year in which he/she has attained the qualifying age of 18 years,” the Election Commission said in a statement then.
Surge in numbers
With four age cut-off dates, rather than one, the amendment has seen a surge in the number of young voters. While briefing reporters in Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said there are around 60 lakh first-time voters in the age group of 18–19 years in the five states, where assembly elections will be held in November. Besides, around 15.39 lakh young voters can exercise their franchise in assembly elections owing to the amendment made to the qualifying age cut-off.
Assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will be held in November for which the Election Commission has decided to rope in youths to man around 2,900 polling booths on the day of polling.
According to the Election Commission, 8,52,000 voters in Mizoram, 20.3 million voters in Chhattisgarh, 56 million voters in Madhya Pradesh, 52.5 million voters in Rajasthan and 31.7 million voters in Telangana will exercise their vote.
The voting age was lowered from 21 years to 18 years through the 61st Amendment to the Constitution – the Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 – after which young voters have seen tremendous growth in their numbers one election after another. No surprise then that every political party woos them during elections.