Now more people can be seen standing in queues at polling stations than before.
The Central Government has increased the age limit for voting through postal ballot from 80 to 85 years.
This means that now the elderly below 85 years of age will have to compulsorily come to the polling stations to cast their vote. Earlier, the elderly above 80 years of age had the facility of postal ballot.
The Central Government, after consulting the Election Commission, on Friday amended the Election Conduct Rules (1961). The government has made this change keeping in mind the voting pattern of the elderly in the last 11 assembly elections.
In these elections, 97 to 98 percent of the elderly above 80 years of age preferred to go to the polling stations and cast their vote instead of voting through postal ballot. Keeping this in view, the government has amended this provision made in 2020.
Let us tell you that according to Rule 27A of the Election Conducting Rules, the facility of postal ballot has been provided for senior citizens above 80 years of age, disabled persons, personnel deployed on election duty and army personnel.
This facility was also given to Covid-infected persons in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections during the pandemic period.
During counting of votes, usually the postal ballot is counted first. After this the votes recorded in EVM are counted. The number of postal ballots is less and they are paper ballots, hence they are easily counted.
According to TOI report, the Election Commission had held a review meeting with the Chief Electoral Officers of the 11 states/UTs where assembly elections were held recently.
In this meeting it was revealed that only 2-3% of the voters above 80 years of age had opted for postal ballot; The rest had opted to come to the polling booth to cast their votes.
The total number of senior citizens above 80 years of age across the country is 1.75 crore, of which those in the age group of 80-85 years are 98 lakh.