Election Commission allows mediapersons to vote using postal ballot

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has allowed media persons authorised by it to exercise their franchise using the postal ballot facility for the upcoming assembly elections in five states.
• Earlier, the Commission had allowed people above the age of 80, those with disability (more than 40 per cent) and Covid-19 patients to vote using postal ballots.

About Postal voting:

• Postal voting is only available to a select group of voters.
• A voter can use this service to vote remotely by writing down her preferences on a ballot paper and returning it to the election officer before the vote is counted.

Procedure:

• Any absentee voter who wishes to vote by postal ballot must submit a completed Form-12D to the returning officer, together with all required information, and have the application confirmed by the organisation's nodal officer.
• A voter who uses the postal ballot option will not be allowed to vote at a polling location.

Eligible beneficiaries :

• Persons in national service (armed forces, the armed police force of a state and government servants posted abroad),
• Voters in the midst of an election
• Persons above the age of 80 or with disabilities (PwD), as well as those in preventive custody, are eligible to vote.