BHUBANESWAR : To ensure an accessible and inclusive voting in the state, a door-to-door drive for registration of senior citizens and differently-abled voters for the ‘vote for home’ option began at Khurda district on Monday. The drive will be undertaken in other districts subsequently.
On the day, 504 centenarian voters in the capital city were provided the ‘form 12D’, which is a letter informing the assistant returning officer (ARO) that the person may not be in a position to go to the polling station and should be allowed to vote in their homes. They were also felicitated for participating in the festival of democracy at this age and provided an invitation card by the district collector to continue to exercise their franchise in the twin elections of 2024.
Officials said of the 504 centenarian voters, while 263 are men, 241 are women. In the subsequent days, 17,532 voters in the age group of 85 and 100 and above across eight Assembly constituencies will be provided form 12D to vote from home. Similarly, 32,006 PwD voters and one transgender will be provided the form.
For logistical convenience, this time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) extended the ‘vote-from-home’ facility to Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and senior citizens aged 85 and above (categorised as very senior citizens) for the elections.
The very senior citizens and PwDs with 40 per cent benchmark disability can avail the optional home voting facility. In Odisha, this initiative will allow 3.02 lakh senior citizens who are 85 years old and above and 4.57 lakh PwDs to cast their votes through postal ballots.
Officials of CEO-Odisha said those who opt to vote from home this year are not eligible to vote directly at the polling station on polling day. In the previous elections, for senior citizens the upper age limit was 80 years.
The vote from home initiative in the state is being implemented with the help of booth level officers (BLO) who will distribute 12D forms to the very senior citizens and PwD voters.
“At least three days before the actual polling day, a team of two to three polling officials along with a police personnel and the BLO will visit the voter’s house with a postal ballot so that the person can vote from home. Voters will be notified ahead of time of the visit, allowing them to be prepared to exercise their right to vote in a safe and comfortable manner,” informed a higher official of CEO-Odisha.
Blind voters and voters with physical infirmity will be allowed to nominate a companion and take their assistance while home voting.
Revamped website of CEO Odisha launched
The revamped website of the CEO Odisha was unveiled by CEO Nikunja Bihari Dhal on Monday. Dhal said it will ensure a free and fair election in the state. The website will be helpful in conveying all election-related information to the public, he said. The website has information related to the general elections, final electoral roll, polling stations and Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.