[ Khoda Rakhi ]
In the recent simultaneous elections of 2024, the home voting option was implemented for the first time across all 60 assembly constituencies in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Self-explanatory as the term sounds, home voting is a provision by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that aims to empower voters who face difficulties in reaching polling stations by offering them the option to vote from the comfort of their homes. It specifically targets persons with disabilities (PwD) who meet the 40% disability benchmark, and senior citizens aged over 85 years.
The ECI’s announcement of home voting, along with orders to implement it thoroughly, generated much excitement and anxiety among election functionaries regarding its execution. After clarifying many of our queries about the process, widespread awareness was created for voters through the respective booth level officers at all polling stations.
Out of 36 polling stations in the constituency, we received only one valid application, submitted by a 19-year-old female voter enrolled at the Sarchgai polling station. The voter, a PwD category individual with 50% disability, was a first-time voter, and the home voting option provided her an exciting opportunity to exercise her adult franchise from the comfort of her home, without worrying about long queues at the polling station.
The interesting thing about elections is that every vote counts. And so began the substantial effort to uphold the constitutional provision of universal adult franchise and collect that single vote.
During this process, we encountered the practical issue that the voter was not residing in her hometown, where she was enrolled, but in Yupia, the district headquarters, to avail herself of better medical facilities in Itanagar, the state capital. The thought of whether the returning officer (RO) could extend their discretionary power to send the home voting team to her location in Yupia, beyond the jurisdiction of her original assembly constituency, came to mind several times. This was discussed and debated among the team at the RO office. The ambitious home voting project was introduced by the ECI to ease voting for the identified categories of voters. However, the fact that her current residence was beyond the territorial jurisdiction of her original home constituency created another hurdle in our decision-making process. Eventually, we decided to refrain from deviating from the established norms, as doing so could set a precedent and invite unnecessary speculation from political parties.
On 11 April, 2024, a robust 9-member polling team, including police personnel and a sector magistrate, set off early in the morning from Yupia towards the remote Sarchgai village under the Mengio administration to collect one precious vote. After completing the process, they returned to Yupia the same day. Both the voter and the polling team were first-time participants in the home voting process. Despite the inconvenience of travelling and relocating the voter to her remote hometown, both the voter and her family, as well as the polling team, remained high-spirited and successfully completed the entire process. The entire activity was documented and videotaped, ensuring the secrecy of the vote as per ECI specifications. The team at the RO office finally breathed a sigh of relief, and I felt a quiet sense of jubilation, knowing that we could have easily lost one valuable vote due to the inconvenience of travelling and queuing at the polling station, had home voting not been available to her.
Though certain issues remain, such as the health-related reasons for PwDs and senior citizens to relocate for medical treatment, this needs to be revisited and addressed in a feasible manner to ensure a wholesome home-voting experience.
The small impediments to ease of voting made me ponder why many first-time voters don’t cast their ballots in their early 20s but often in their 30s, after completing their education. Another crucial reason for low voter turnout is the absence of young voters on polling day. Despite polling day usually being declared a holiday, many young voters who are away from home for education or work within or outside the state find it difficult to return in time to vote. Even if they do manage to return, it involves significant expenses, the inconvenience of travel, and missing valuable classes, making it an easier option to skip voting altogether. Young voters are a promising category, and their fresh perspectives are bound to shape visionary and futuristic ideals. Perhaps, in the future, the Election Commission of India could introduce a ‘campus voting’ option for students, enabling them to vote on their campuses. Just as home voting benefitted senior citizens and PwD voters, campus voting could support students pursuing education away from home.
Collecting a single vote may not seem like a remarkable achievement to everyone, but it reminded me of the book Every Vote Counts by Navin Chawla, the former chief election commissioner. There are undoubtedly numerous factors contributing to low voting percentages across the country; one such factor – the inconvenience experienced by certain categories of voters – has been addressed by the ECI’s home voting initiative. (Khoda Rakhi is an APCS officer and was posted as EAC-cum-ARO at the Sagalee assembly constituency during the simultaneous elections of 2024.)
