No change in cutoff date for enrolling young voters

The Union Ministry of Law has rejected the Election Commission’s (EC) suggestion to amend laws to allow youth to get voting rights immediately after turning 18.

In its reply to the poll panel, the Ministry said that amending the Representative of People Act, 1950 (RP Act) is not sufficient to ensure that all those who attained the age of 18 years, irrespective of the January 1 cutoff date, should be made eligible for enrolling themselves as voters.

If the ministry wanted to implement the EC’s suggestion on removing January 1 as cutoff date and have many more cutoff dates, the government has to amend the Constitution of India which is a lengthy process, the ministry said in its reply.

As Article 326 of Constitution says that every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate legislature shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election, the government doesn’t have flexibility to have any other date than the already fixed January 1 cutoff date, an official from the ministry told Deccan Herald.

On rolls

At present, as per Section 14 (b) of the Representative of People Act, 1950, only those who attain the age of 18 years on or before January 1, the day on which the electoral rolls are prepared or revised, are eligible for enrolling themselves in the electoral list.

As the first day of January of every year is the relevant date for determining the age of qualification of 18 years, if a person attains the age of 18 years after that particular date, he has to wait till next year to enroll himself in the voters’ list. So, he becomes ineligible to vote in any polls that are held in that year.

In an attempt to attract young voters to participate in the electoral process, earlier, the Election Commission of India had written to the Ministry of Law seeking to amend the RP Act to ensure that all those who attained the age of 18 years, irrespective of January 1 cutoff date, should be made eligible for enrolling themselves as voters.

As per the 2011 census single year age data released by Census of India, as many as 2,79,49,127 people – 1,50,15,960 men and 1,29,33,167 women – are attaining the age of 18 to become eligible to vote. However, if cutoff date norm is fixed for them, many may not be eligible to exercise their right or will have to wait for the next year to complete the cutoff date, said the official.