Help citizens away from home to vote: plea urges Karnataka HC

If the government can make allowances for certain categories of its officials to vote through postal ballots, why should the common man be deprived of such a facility?

This was the crux of the petition filed in the Karnataka High Court, seeking directions on allowing citizens away from their voting blocks to exercise their franchise through alternative means.

Petitioner Mitty Narasimha Murthy stated that people who happened to be away from their place of registration of voting will be deprived of their right to vote in case they are not present.

The petitioner urged the Election Commission of India and the Union government to look into the issue and introduce provisions to help more citizens to exercise their right to vote.

The petitioner also suggested that email voting with the provision of a one time password (OTP), similar to the process adopted in the banks, would help anyone away from their voting centres to cast their ballots.