Citizens will now get three more opportunities in a year to enrol in the voters' list on the strength of an amendment to the electoral laws, Sanjay M. Kaul, Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala), said on Friday.
Till now, new voters were enrolled if they turned 18 on or before January 1, which was the lone qualifying date in a year. Now, there will be four chances in a year to enrol due to an amendment made to Section 14(b) of the Representation of the People Act. The four qualifying dates are January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, he said.
Advance application
Once the draft electoral roll is published, 17-year-olds who will be turning 18 by any of the four dates can apply in advance for enrolment. They will be formally registered as voters once they turn 18.
The draft electoral roll will be published on November 9 this year, after which eligible citizens can apply for enrolment, Mr. Kaul said.
Earlier, people who turned 18 after the qualifying date of January 1 had to wait till the next January 1 to register as a voter. This delay can be avoided now, Mr. Kaul said.
Draft roll
For the 2023 revision, the integrated draft electoral roll will be published on November 9, 2022, after which eligible citizens can apply for enrolment. Claims and objections can be filed from that date up to December 8, 2022. The claims and objections will be disposed by December 26, 2022. The final electoral roll will be published on January 5, 2023.
The Centre, through the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, has enabled the linking of Aadhaar with the voter’s ID card, introduced multiple qualifying dates for enrolment and a gender-neutral provision for service and special electors.
