Time to Vote ! ~ A Ready Referencer to the Voters...

Time to Vote ! 

~ A Ready Referencer to the Voters...

24th April 2014 - The day to exercise our right to vote. It's our nation, our netha and our right to vote and to choose the right person as a prime minster. A lot has been shared and talked about the political situation, pros and cons of the leaders etc and now the time has come to choose the right candidate of our choice. The election has already been started in many other states and for Tamil Nadu it will be on 24th April 2014 - Thursday. 

Firstly I would like to say thanks to all those who have encouraged me to write this post as a sequel to my earlier post about Applying Voters ID Card Online. I am very glad to know that many people have got their voters ID through online application after reading my post. And sorry to few others whom I couldnt reply to their queries being raised by way of mail and through comments. Anyways, now the time has come to make use of the Voters ID card. 

By this time, the booth slips would have been issued to all the households and the first time voters would be happy in seeing their name in the voters list. On the other hand, it also brings some confusions of the name not being included in the list. I hope this post provides solution for those confusions. I will be categorizing the confusions / questions as below : 

1. How to Vote (For the first time voters)

2. What needs to be done if the name was not in the list

3. How to vote if we dont have Voters ID (Alternative documents in the absence of Voters ID)

1. First Time Voters - How to Vote : 

Follow the queue and reach the polling area. First the officials will verify the documents and then you will be inked in your finger. Then you will be allowed to the cabin where the Voting Machine is kept. The cabin is confidential, no one else other than you can see this machine and you are assured of the privacy. 

Image Source: indiaevm.org

This is how the voting machine will look. 

1. Candidates' names are written along with their party's symbol. Identify the party / person whom you want to vote for.

2. This is the button which you need to press to cast your vote. You can press this button only once. Once you pressed, a beep sound will come which confirms you that you are done with voting. 

Name not in the list / Booth Slip ?

I am sure few people might felt disappointed to see their name not been there in the list / booth slip, including me :)  We got the booth slips for every other person in our family except mine and dad's. Now the doubt arises as to how to vote if we didnt find our name in the list ?

There may be many reasons for our name being not in the list which the officials brings along with the booth slips. One of the major reason is the change in address. So if your name was not there in the list, dont be panic. You still can vote. Follow the procedure below :

Step 1:  Click here (http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/pdf/dt2eng.htm)

Step 2: A window like this will open. 

Step 3: Select your constituency. For Eg: Select Chepauk - Thiruvallikkeni..

Step 4 : A window like this will open.

Step 5 : Press Ctrl + F and search with your "PRESENT STREET NAME" Ie. The street in which you are currently residing. Click on the link which was corresponding to your street name and it will open the voters list of that particular street(s) / Area(s).   The same PDF will have the booth address, along with the room in which you need to go and vote.

Step 6 : It is a PDF document and again you can use Ctrl + F to find / search your name in the PDF document. If it is found in that PDF, then that's it, you are eligible to vote. No issues even if you dont have the booth slip with you. If you didn't find your name in the list, go to step 7.

Step 7 : Follow the procedure as in STEP 5 but  now search with your "OLD STREET NAME" Ie. The street in which you were resided earlier and follow the same procedure to find your name.  

Note: If you are in doubt regarding your address in Election records, you can find it easily by clicking here (http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/EPICSEARCH/). Just type your EPIC Number (Voters ID Number) and click search. It will provide you the address as per their records.

Alternative Documents in the Absence of Voter's ID:

Have you lost your Voter's ID or you kept the Voter's ID at some other place which you can't bring it on the election date ? No Worries..... In the absence of voter's ID, we can use any of the below mentioned ID proof to cast our votes. 

• Passports
• Driving Licence 
• Service Identity Cards issued to its employees by State/Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Public Limited Companies
• Bank/ Post Office Passbooks with your photograph
• PAN cards
• Adhar Card 
• Smart Cards issued by RGI under NPR 
• MNREGA job card 
• Health Insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour  
• Pension documents with photographs

The chief electoral officer Mr.Praveen Kumar said in a statement: "Those electors who are not able to produce the EPIC (Voters ID) and those electors who are not able to establish the identity of the elector on account of mismatch of the photograph, etc. shall produce any of the alternative photo identity documents for establishing their identity. The necessity is that the name of the voter should be on the electoral roll."

It is quoted by the Election Commission in their statement that, On the polling day, one officer will be on duty outside each polling station, during polling hours with undistributed photo voter slips, so that any elector who has not been issued the slip can collect it in original outside the polling stations.

It has also been clarified that if any elector uses an elector's photo identity card, which has been issued by the electoral registration officer of another assembly constituency, such cards shall also be taken into account provided the name of that elector finds place on the electoral roll pertaining to the polling station.

The possession of EPIC or other form of identity prescribed by the commission above will not entitle a person to exercise his or her vote, unless his or her name is found on the electoral roll supplied to the polling station, according to the Chief Electoral Officer.

Find Your Polling Booth Through SMS: 

Type <EPIC> <space> <Voter ID No.> Send to 9444123456 to know your Polling Station.

Key Facts About Elections 2014 : 

• For the first time in Indian Election history, NOTA (None Of The Above) option will be available for voters. If you dont want to vote for any of the candidates, you can press that button.
• This is going to be the first Election year when Transgenders will be able to vote under a section "Others".
• The date for counting of General Election votes is May 16, 2014.

Note: Mobile phones are not allowed inside the poll booth due to security reasons. And heard from the voters of other state that there is no provision to keep the mobile outside the booth to  the security personnel. So make sure that you are not carrying the mobile phone to the booth. Thanks to Mira mam for this valuable information.

Conclusion:

Voting is our right, do exercise it to choose the right candidate as our Prime Minister. Exercise your right to vote and proud to be a part of democratic country. Make your votes count. Forget every other commitments on this Thursday, Just spare few hours in voting and selecting the best candidate of your choice.  Go Vote and Bring the Change!

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman