Beware, you won’t be allowed to vote if your name is missing on electoral rolls

Mangaluru, Feb 25: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer S Sasikanth Senthil has warned the voters that mere possession of electoral photo identity card (EPIC) would not enable the voters to exercise franchise as their names must be there on the electoral rolls.

Speaking to reporters on the preparation of electoral rolls in the run-up for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Senthil said that voters may check their names either onwww.ceokarnata- ka.kar.nic.inor contact their booth-level officer (BLO) or call the toll free election helpline Ph: 1950. Electoral rolls are continuously being revised till 10 days before the filing of the nomination papers by candidates for polling.

Those intending to add their names, delete names, modify details, etc., may do so by contacting the nearest booth-level officer or entering the details on National Voter Service Portal —https://www.nvsp.in/. Officials concerned would get in touch with the person once the details are entered in the portal, Mr. Senthil said.

He said that 11,325 applications have been received for voter registration after the publication of the final electoral roll on January 16. Of these, 1,971 applications are from first-time voters. The Election Commission’s focus is on adding young voters to the list and hence, the administration is in touch with heads of various colleges to encourage students to enrol their names.

The Election Commission has launched an awareness campaign to enlighten voters about electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for which the administration has constituted at least six teams comprising five officials for each Assembly constituency.

The teams would conduct awareness programmes in the booth level instead of the village level to bring more awareness about the two equipment. Each team member is assigned a specific duty. The equipment would be kept on a government premises after every programme so as to avoid rumours of EVMs or VVPATs being misused, Mr. Senthil said.

The Election Commission is also focussing on improving voting percentage in urban areas where special programmes involving residents associations would be conducted. Voter facilitation initiatives would be taken up in booths located in urban areas and attempts are on to intimate the voter about rush in a particular booth.

Meanwhile, the administration has conducted a survey on basic facilities in every booth; while 96 booths need to be provided ramps for specially abled persons, some booths need to be provided toilet facilities.

Additional Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatachalapathy and Assistant Commissioner (Muzrai) Prameela and others were present.