Civil rights activists questioned how existing voters could be asked to declare that they were seeking inclusion in the roll for the first time
State chief electoral officer’s office said eligible voters whose names do not figure in the draft roll could apply through Form 6 during the claims and objections period. Point (iii) of Form 6 states, “I am applying for inclusion in the Electoral Roll for the first time and my name is not included in any Assembly Constituency/Parliamentary Constituency. Goa bench of Bombay high court recently questioned the procedure after a voter and five family members, who had shifted within the same constituency and submitted Form 8 for the change of address, were left out of the poll roll. The voter said he had been voting since 2003, but was told to file Form 6 to get back on the roll. A 58-year-old private-sector employee from Kothrud, having an EPIC and having voted previously, was away when the BLO visited his home for enumeration. Civil rights activists want Election Commission of India to specify if absent and shifted electors should use Form 6 and how they should deal with the first-time enrolment declaration.
Because booth-level officers (BLOs) did not visit them or because of a lack of awareness about the enumeration exercise, ulka Mahajan of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan told TOI on Saturday that many voters were left out.
Voters trying to get their names back on the roll in the city are facing the issue of the “first-time voter” clause in Form 6. Election officials said if a particular person was absent during the enumeration form exercise, any adult member of the household was permitted to sign the form on his/her behalf. “Should they explain that they were in the absent-shifted category or should they ignore the question in the declaration?” an activist asked.
Civil rights activists questioned how existing voters could be asked to declare that they were seeking inclusion in the roll for the first time. The court questioned if existing voters were being forced to make a false declaration. So was his wife. This option should have been used, they stressed.