NEW DELHI: Electoral law experts have welcomed passing of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by the Rajya Sabha, a day after it was cleared by the Lok Sabha, saying that it will make the voting age of 18 years a reality in the true sense.
As per the law so far, a voter needed to be 18 years on the first day of the calendar year to be able to vote in an election happening anytime in that year. This essentially meant that if a voter turned 18 anytime between January 2 and December 31 in a given year, he could vote only in the following year.
With the amendment now providing for four qualifying dates, any young voter can vote in an election scheduled between April and June if he is 18 years as on April 1, or in an election scheduled between July and September if he is 18 as on July 1, or in an election election timed between October and December, if he had attained 18 years of age as on October 1.
“On an average, 1.5 crore youths turn 18 in a given year. The amendment shall cut the nearly year-long wait for them to be able to vote,” said a senior EC official.
The official added: “This is the real change that has happened. Most voters who turned 18 could, until now, only vote when they were almost 19. Now they can vote within days and weeks of turning 18”.
An electoral law expert also sought to dismiss any concerns regarding linking of Aadhaar and voter ID, stating that furnishing one’s Aadhaar number will be voluntary and that the Aadhaar will only be taken as a proof of identity. “Sometimes, a voter is on the electoral roll in his native place as also another place where he is a usual resident, where he enrols subsequently without having his name deleted. By linking the Aadhaar number with the voter’s consent, we will be able to detect if his name exists on the rolls of another constituency and have it deleted, thus weeding out duplicate entries. Since Aadhaar is the only identity database with biometrics, duplication will be ruled out once voter identity is authenticated with Aadhaar number,” said an EC official.
The official said even the provision allowing husband of a woman service voter to register as voter in the same constituency as her, seeks to bring the law in sync with the changing times as women are now part of the armed forces.
As per the law so far, a voter needed to be 18 years on the first day of the calendar year to be able to vote in an election happening anytime in that year. This essentially meant that if a voter turned 18 anytime between January 2 and December 31 in a given year, he could vote only in the following year.
With the amendment now providing for four qualifying dates, any young voter can vote in an election scheduled between April and June if he is 18 years as on April 1, or in an election scheduled between July and September if he is 18 as on July 1, or in an election election timed between October and December, if he had attained 18 years of age as on October 1.
“On an average, 1.5 crore youths turn 18 in a given year. The amendment shall cut the nearly year-long wait for them to be able to vote,” said a senior EC official.
The official added: “This is the real change that has happened. Most voters who turned 18 could, until now, only vote when they were almost 19. Now they can vote within days and weeks of turning 18”.
An electoral law expert also sought to dismiss any concerns regarding linking of Aadhaar and voter ID, stating that furnishing one’s Aadhaar number will be voluntary and that the Aadhaar will only be taken as a proof of identity. “Sometimes, a voter is on the electoral roll in his native place as also another place where he is a usual resident, where he enrols subsequently without having his name deleted. By linking the Aadhaar number with the voter’s consent, we will be able to detect if his name exists on the rolls of another constituency and have it deleted, thus weeding out duplicate entries. Since Aadhaar is the only identity database with biometrics, duplication will be ruled out once voter identity is authenticated with Aadhaar number,” said an EC official.
The official said even the provision allowing husband of a woman service voter to register as voter in the same constituency as her, seeks to bring the law in sync with the changing times as women are now part of the armed forces.
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