POSTAL BALLOT SYSTEM

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Context - The Chief Election Commissioner stated that the Election Commission of India is considering the proposal to extend the Postal ballot facility for NRIs.

Details

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra noted that the Election Commission of India is considering the proposal to extend the Postal ballot facility for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
The Chief Election Commissioner also urged NRIs to get registered as overseas electors on the election commission of India website.
Recently, An EC delegation visited South Africa and Mauritius and interacted with groups of NRIs.
In 2020, The Election Commission of India had written to the Law Ministry, proposing NRIs be allowed to vote through postal ballots since then the matter has been under consideration by the Union government.
The present System allows NRIs to register as overseas electors as long as they have not acquired the citizenship of another country; they have to reach their respective polling booths to cast their votes in person on the voting day.

Postal Ballot System

It is an election mechanism where ballot papers are distributed to electors via postal or digital medium and they have to return them by post.
During an election, postal votes may be limited to individuals meeting certain criteria, such as a proven inability to travel to a designated polling place.
- Most electors are required to apply for a postal vote, although some may receive one by default.
Postal voting in India is done only through the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot Papers (ETPB) system, where ballot papers are distributed to the registered eligible voters and they return the votes by post.
When the counting of votes starts, these postal votes are counted first before the counting of votes from the electronic voting machines of all other voters.
Only certain categories of people are eligible to register as postal voters.
- Members of Union armed forces and state police as well as their wives.
- Union Government employees who are officially posted abroad can register for the postal vote; these are also called service voters.
- People in preventive detention, the disabled and those above the age of 65 years old can use the postal vote.
- Media persons are also allowed to use the postal ballot to cast their votes.

NRI Voter

A citizen of India, who is absent from the country owing to employment, education etc, and has not acquired citizenship of any other country is known as Overseas Voters and is eligible to be registered as a voter at the address mentioned in their Indian passport.
According to the provisions of Section 19 of the Representation of People Act, 1950, an NRI could join the electoral rolls as an elector.
- However, till 2010, NRIs settled in other countries were not permitted to exercise their right to vote during the elections.
- It was a simple amendment to the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, 2010 that crystallized voting rights for the non-resident Indians, even though they had to be physically present in the constituency.

Present Status

NRIs form an impressive force across the globe, with a population of 3.10 crore according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
It is expensive as well as complex to fly back home merely to push a button to indicate your preference for leadership.
- The logistical and practical issues have always been difficult for the Election Commission as well.
The Representation of People Act, 1950 was amended in the year 2010 that made special provisions for Indian Citizens living abroad to get enrolled as a voter, but less than 1% of total NRIs who are eligible have registered as voters as per the latest electoral roll published by the ECI in 2019.
- More than 92% of the registered are from Kerala.
As per the data released by the ECI, only 8 NRI voters voted in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections out of 13039 registered by then. In other words, less than 0.1% of the registered NRI voters actually voted.
According to an Election Commission official data, at present, there are only 1.12 lakh registered overseas electors.

How NRIs get voting rights

They should be an Indian and not citizen of the foreign country where they live; that means they must possess a valid Indian passport.
They must be at least 18 years old as of January 1st of the year in which the electoral roll is published.
Once they fulfil these conditions, they may register themselves as an overseas voter.
Offline registration
- Step 1: If they wish to apply for an NRI Voter ID offline, they need to visit their constituency.
- Step 2: Visit the Election Registration Office.
- Step 3: Fill out form 6A for being registered in the roll for the constituency pertaining to the locality in which his place of residence in India as mentioned in the passport is located.
- Step 4: Submit documents, including a recent passport-size coloured photograph, self-attested photocopies of relevant passport pages, address in India, and visa endorsement.
- Step 5: They need to show their original passport for verification.
Online registration
Visit the ECI website.
Choose your state or union territory and go to the State Election Commission of India division.
Find form 6A and download it, Print out the form, and fill in the details.
Check that the details are the same as those mentioned in the documents and passport.
Scan the form as well as the documents required: One recent passport-sized coloured photograph, duly affixed in Form 6A; self-attested photocopies of the relevant pages of the passport containing the photograph, your address in India, all other particulars and also the page of your passport containing the valid visa endorsement.
To submit, create a login ID with a password if the online registration is supported for your area.
Upload the scanned documents and submit an application online.
The application will be scrutinised and posted to screen for objections over a week.

About Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)

Overseas Indians, officially known as Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are people of Indian birth or ancestry who live outside the Republic of India.
- An Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian Passport.
According to a Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 32 million NRIs residing outside India.
- Every year 2.5 million (25 lakhs) Indians migrate overseas, which is the highest annual number of migrants in the world.
If an individual has been in India for a minimum of 182 days in the previous financial year is deemed to be a Resident of India. Anyone who does not meet the conditions will be considered an NRI for the previous financial year.
- In simple terms, an Indian citizen residing outside India for a combined total of at least 183 days in a financial year is considered to be an NRI.
NRIs are eligible to vote, and only the income that they have earned in India is taxable in India.
- Therefore, any income earned outside India is not taxable in India.
They are entitled to all benefits available to Indian citizens subject to notifications issued by the Government from time to time.
They don’t require a visa for visiting India.
They can adopt children in India, appear in competitive exams, purchase or sale of immovable property barring agricultural land and farmhouses, and pursue professions such as doctors, lawyers, architects, and chartered accountants.
They have parity with Indian nationals in the matter of domestic airfares, and entry fees to monuments and public places.
They are exempted from registration with the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) for any length of stay in India.
- Foreigners visiting India who hold long-term visas (more than 180 days) are required to register their presence in India with the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 20, 21, 21A, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 are available to all persons whether citizens or foreigners.
- The Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Articles 15, 16, 19, 29, and 30 are available only to citizens of India and NRIs.
In case an NRI wishes to take up foreign citizenship, he/she will have to give up Indian citizenship as the Indian constitution does not allow dual citizenship.
- A person cannot hold Indian as well as foreign citizenship simultaneously.

Significance of Overseas Indian

Remittances close to 90 billion dollars make an invaluable contribution by aiding in socio-economic development, poverty reduction and changes in consumption behaviour in rural areas.
NRIs are more prone to donate to domestic charities because of the strong cultural and emotional feelings that they experience.
Diaspora acts as 'agents of change' facilitating and enhancing investment, accelerating industrial development, and boosting international trade and tourism.
They act as “bridge-builders” between their home and adopted countries. The migration of labour (especially to West Asia) has also helped in bringing down disguised unemployment in India.
- The migration of skilled labourers to foreign countries and their eventual success bolstered the nation’s image.
Diaspora’s motives to invest in India are in contrast to non-diaspora FDI. Their investments are long-lasting as many of them wish to establish a long-term base in India.