New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved proposed amendments to the electoral law to bring in major electoral reforms like linking of voter ID with Aadhaar so that fake and duplicate entries in the electoral rolls can be removed. Sources indicated that there has been a demand to implement another reform, which is allowing people above the age of 18 to register as voters on multiple dates in a year instead of just January 1.
The draft bill to amend the Representation of the People Act, approved by the cabinet and likely to be brought before Parliament in the ongoing winter session, reportedly proposes to create a gender-neutral provision that would allow only the wife of a male service voter to register. allows. voters of the same constituency. The Fourth Potential Amendment seeks to empower the Election Commission for any purpose relating to elections, and not merely for the construction of polling stations and the storage of ballot boxes.
Sources said the Bill to amend the RP Act proposes to empower the Electoral Registration Officer to obtain Aadhaar numbers of existing as well as new voters, though only on a voluntary basis. Aadhaar number will be used only for the purpose of voter authentication.
While multiple dates for registration of newly-eligible voter – the cabinet is said to have approved four dates of January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 in a year – through amendments to section 14(b) will become possible. The gender-neutral registration facility for spouses of service voters under the RP Act has been sought by amending Section 20(6) of the RP Act. Also, the proposed amendment to Section 160(1)A of the RP Act would empower the Election Commission to require premises for any purpose, including accommodation for the central paramilitary forces, its employees and supervisors.
Incidentally, the Election Commission started the process of linking voter cards and Aadhaar numbers in 2015 as part of its National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Program (NERPAP). By the time the Election Commission decided to drop the program in view of the Supreme Court’s decision restricting the use of Aadhaar, around 32 crore Aadhaar numbers were linked.
Following the SC’s decision in 2019 allowing the collection of Aadhaar with appropriate amendments to the Aadhaar Act, the Election Commission wrote to the Law Ministry seeking a suitable amendment to make it mandatory to link voter cards with Aadhaar. The Law Ministry has agreed to this.
Election Commission officials said the Aadhaar-EPIC linkage will help realize the Commission’s plan to work towards secure, possibly electronic, voting to help migrant voters including domestic workers, migrant laborers etc. Do not live in the constituency where they are registered as a voter. “Once their identities are sufficiently verified, the Commission may explore technology that will allow them to vote from a remote location protected by the Election Commission,” an official said.
FacebookTwitterLinkedinE-mail
,