CHENNAI: Postal voting for elderly citizens in Chennai will take place on April 15, according to city corporation officials. Out of 23,415 senior citizens and 12,501 differently-abled voters across 16 assembly constituencies, around 8,947 have opted for postal ballot, officials said. Senior citizens aged above 85 and differently-abled voters who opted to vote from home by submitting filled Form 12D are eligible.
Speaking to TNIE, the corporation official said that those who couldn’t cast their vote on April 15 will get an opportunity to cast them on April 16.
To facilitate the process, 96 polling teams will be deployed. Each team will consist of two polling officers, a police personnel, a videographer, and a micro-observer. These teams will visit voters at their residences, informing them in advance of the scheduled date and time.
Polling personnel engaged in election duties will begin casting their postal ballots between April 16 and 17 at three designated locations, which are yet to be finalised.
Training for polling teams was conducted on April 8 at the Ripon Buildings under the supervision of Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran. These teams were instructed to ensure that voters cast their vote on their own free will and that ballot secrecy is strictly maintained.
After voting, individuals will seal their ballot papers and place them in the sealed ballot box carried by the officials. The ballots collected each day will be recorded in a register and kept securely under the custody of the returning officers. Daily details of collected postal votes will also be electronically submitted to the chief electoral officer.