Indians might soon be able to enroll as voters anytime
What's the story
The Center has asked the Election Commission to check the feasibility of enrolling voters throughout the year as soon as they turn 18.
At present, an individual who has attained the age of 18 years on January 1 is eligible to be registered in the voters' list for that year.
People born thereafter can register as voters only the next year.
Multiple dates
EC proposed four cut off dates to register new voters
The poll panel had been insisting on 'multiple' cut-off dates to register voters who turned 18, since mid-70s.
The proposal for four cut-offs- January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1- had been sent to J&K in 1970s.
The state government had implemented the idea soon after.
But the law ministry said two cut-offs- January 1 and July 1- would be fine.
Amendment
Govt to amend Representation of People Act by a bill
The Center has now decided to examine whether people turning 18 can be "automatically" registered as voters throughout the year.
EC has been asked to reconfigure the software and flag the practical difficulties the move could throw up.
For this, the government would amend the Representation of People Act.
On an average, over 1 crore new voters get registered annually in the country.