State Election Commission weighs e-postal ballot for 50,000 service voters

Hyderabad: The State Election Commission (SEC) is contemplating to provide, for the first time, more than 50,000 service voters with the e-postal ballot for the forthcoming elections.

The Election Commission will introduce a special mobile application through which voters can get details of their polling station address, Assembly constituency and other details by entering their electoral photo ID card number (EPIC).

The app would be available for download from the SEC site, alternatively, the e-postal ballot can be cast on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website, which would provide a user ID and password. In a postal ballot, the voter can send the vote by post when he or she cannot be physically present at the regular polling booth to exercise their franchise. It is expected that the e-postal ballot will bring in transparency and accountability.

The e-postal ballot will be available for 10,000 defence personnel, 20,000 government employees and 20,000 police personnel deputed on election duty. The Karnataka State Election Commission had launched an app to offer e-ballot for the state elections earlier this year.