The Election Commission (EC) has determined that anyone over 17 can now apply in advance to register as voters once they turn 18 in an effort to guarantee that more young people vote.
Before recently, everybody who turned 18 on or before January 1 of a given year was able to register as a voter. After January 1, those who turned 18 had to wait an entire year to register to vote. Following change in law, people can resister as voters on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 on turning 18.
According to a statement released by the EC on July 28, the election panel, which is chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, has instructed the state election offices to develop technological solutions to make it easier for voters who are over 17 but under 18 to submit 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.
Any citizen who reaches the age of 18 by April 1, July 1, and October 1 of 2023 may also file an advance application for registration as a voter from the date of the draught publication of the electoral roll, according to the information provided.
