17-yr-olds can register as voters by applying in advance: EC

The Election Commission, in an effort to make sure the youth participate in elections, said it has decided to open applications for registration as voters in advance for those above the age of 17 when they turn 18. Until recently, people turning 18 on or before January of a particular year were eligible to enrol in the electoral roll.

Those who turned 18 after January 1 had to wait a full year before they can register as voters. Currently, after a change in the electoral law, people can register as voters when they turn 18 on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.

According to an EC statement on Thursday, July 28, the poll panel led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey has directed the poll machinery in the states to work out tech-enabled solutions to facilitate those above 17 years of age (but not yet 18) to file their advance applications. "Henceforth, the electoral roll will be updated every quarter and eligible youngsters can be registered in the next quarter of the year in which he or she has attained the qualifying age of 18 years," it said. After getting registered, the individual will be issued an Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), said the Commission.

For the current round of annual revision of the electoral roll, 2023, any citizen attaining the age of 18 years by April 1, July 1 and October 1 of 2023 can also submit an advance application for registration as a voter from the date of draft publication of electoral roll, it explained.

The Election Commission has initiated the necessary changes in line with the amendments to Section 14(b) of the RP (Representation of the People) Act, 1950 and the amendments made in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. They have started the process of bringing about necessary changes for the preparation /revision of the electoral roll of the Assembly/Parliamentary Constituency.

According to the existing policy, the revision of the electoral roll was normally done in the latter part of every year in all states/UTs (usually in the last quarter of a year) with reference to 1st January of the coming year as the eligibility date so that the electoral roll will be published in the first week of January next year.

This meant that a large number of youth who turned 18 after January 1 had to wait for next year's special summary review for enrollment and could not participate in the elections held in the meantime.

With PTI inputs