Voting method
India
THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS RULES, 1961
Postal ballot
17. Definitions. - In this Part,- (a) "service voter'' means any person who is required to give his vote by postal ballot under clause (a) of section 60; (b) ``special voter'' means any person holding an office to which the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) are declared to apply or the wife of such person, if he or she has been registered as an elector by virtue of a statement made under sub-section (5) of the said section; (c) 'voter on election duty' means any polling agent, any polling officer, presiding officer or other public servant, who is an elector in the constituency and is by reason of his being on election duty unable to vote as the polling station where he is entitled to vote.
18. Persons entitled to vote by post.-The following persons shall, subject to their fulfilling the requirements hereinafter specified, be entitled to vote by post, namely:- (a) at an election in a parliamentary or assembly constituency-(i) special voters; (ii) service voters; (iii) voters on election duty; and (iv) electors subjected to preventive detention; (b) at an election in a council constituency- (i) voters on election duty; (ii) electors subjected to preventive detention; and (iii) electors in the whole or any specified parts, of the constituency if directed by the Election Commission in this behalf under clause (b) of rule 68; (c) at an election by assembly members- (i) electors subjected to preventive detention; and (ii) all electors if directed by the Election Commission in this behalf under clause (a) of rule 68.
THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1950
20. Meaning of 'ordinarily resident'.—4[(1) A person shall not be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein.
(8) In sub-sections (3) and (5) 'service qualification' means —
(a) being a member of the armed forces of the Union; or
(b) being a member of a force to which the provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), have been made applicable whether with or without modifications; or
(c) being a member of an armed police force of a State, who isserving outside that State; or
(d) being a person who is employed under the Government of India,in a post outside India.
THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010
2. In the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), after section 20, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—
“20A. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, every citizen of India,—
(a) whose name is not included in the electoral roll;
(b) who has not acquired the citizenship of any other country; and
(c) who is absenting from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to his employment, education, or otherwise outside India (whether temporarily or not), shall be entitled to have his name registered in the electoral roll in the constituency in which his place of residence in India as mentioned in his passport is located.
(2) The time within which the name of persons referred to in sub-section (1) shall be registered in the electoral roll and the manner and procedure for registering of a person in the electoral roll under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.
(3) Every person registered under this section shall, if otherwise eligible to exercise his franchise, be allowed to vote at an election in the constituency.”.
From High Commission of India in Ottawa:
Under Section 20A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010, which has come into effect on 10 February 2011, every overseas elector, i.e., Indian citizen who is absenting from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to employment, education or otherwise and has not acquired citizenship of any other country and who is not included in the electoral roll, is entitled to have his/her name registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his/her place of residence in India as mentioned in his/her passport is located. Thereafter, they can cast their vote in the elections held in India by visiting their home constituency on the day of voting.
Voting by postal ballot is available for service voters as described in The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (see the Source). It has to be noted that service voters obtain their ballots electronically using the ETBPS system, but they send their votes back using postal service. Ordinary overseas electors are entitled to have their name registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his/her place of residence in India as mentioned in his/her passport is located. However they can cast their vote in the elections held in India by visiting their home constituency on the day of voting.
