Only 36% of those in 18-19 age group in voters' list: Study

Only 36% of the youths in the 18-19 years age group have registered as voters, a baseline study commissioned by the chief electoral officer said, listing the lack of youth participation as a major challenge along with urban apathy and gender gap.

The study led by S Madheswaran, head of the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), is based on a survey of 4,452 persons from 45 Assembly constituencies spread over 23 districts in the state.

Many of the respondents believed voting is their right and duty and about 94% of them voted in the 2018 polls.

Of the remaining respondents who didn’t vote, 64.7% cited lack of electoral ID card as a major reason.

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The elector-population ratio of those in the 18-19 age group remains at 36%, despite efforts to increase it.

The youngsters also “give relatively less importance to casting votes,” the study said.

In the last election, their participation in Belagavi, Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and Mysuru was 70.1%, 73.5%, 69% and 71.7%, respectively.

Among youngsters, the participation of those pursuing studies ranged between 53 and 63.6% in the four regions.

Eligible voters left out

The state’s population is projected at about 6.8 crore in 2023. However, many of the eligible voters are yet to be added to the currently proposed final electoral roll.

The electoral population ratio should be equal to the ratio of 18+ population to the total population.

It stands at 68 now, the study said, pointing to the need for strengthening the registration process.

The study said a significant improvement has been made in gender gap since 2008.

But it found that the turnout in the 2018 elections shows that many districts in Karnataka continue to see less women exercising their franchise.

The analysis showed that except for Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, the number of women exercising their votes is less than their male counterparts in 2018.

Haveri stood last with only 898 women voting for every 1,000 men. It was followed by Dharwad (901), Bidar (918), Vijayapura (918) and Kalaburagi (935).

There was a gender gap in registered voters too with the study recommending focus on Bangalore Urban, Bidar, Vijayapura and Haveri, which had only 950 women electors to every 1,000 male electors.

BLOs role the key

Block level officers (BLOs) need to make door-to-door visits to create awareness and encourage participation of all citizens.

To increase young voters, campus ambassador programmes should be strengthened in degree colleges and more awareness programmes should be conducted, especially during the election year, the study recommends.

Third gender communities, migrant labourers and persons who have changed residence were other voters who remain outside the voting process as non-availability of requisite documents remains a barrier for registration.

Urban apathy, traffic jams

Urban apathy remains a major challenge for the commission, with the study listing a host of issues in Bengaluru city, from lack of awareness to traffic jams coming as hindrance to voter participation. Lower registration, preoccupation of registered voters and high traffic to reach the polling station were reported as reasons for the lower turnout.

“None of the participants were aware of their BLOs. Participants mentioned that they had not received any support for registration or change of constituency, etc,” it said.

Participants said they had not conducted online search for their information requirement as they were busy in their work,” the study said.