Postal ballots

Subject:Polity

Context:

Election Commission of India (ECI) has ruled out the feasibility of extending postal ballots to 70 lakh electors above 65 years of age in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Concept:

• By postal ballot, a voter can cast her vote remotely by recording her preference on the ballot paper and sending it back to the election officer before counting.
• Members of the armed forces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post.
• Voters under preventive detention can also vote only by post.
• The Returning Officer is supposed to print ballot papers within 24 hours of the last date of nomination withdrawal and dispatch them within a day.
• After receiving it, the voter can mark her preference with a tick mark or cross mark against the candidate’s name. They also have to fill up a duly attested declaration to the effect that they have marked the ballot paper. The ballot paper and the declaration are then placed in a sealed cover and sent back to the Returning Officer before the time fixed for the commencement of counting of votes.