Shimla / New Delhi, Apr 8 (Bureau) The qualifying dates for registration for new voters who have attained the age of 18 years on the 1st of either of the months viz. January, April, July, or October were eligible to get themselves enrolled in the voter’s list instead of once a year as was the practice earlier Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg, said here on Monday. Garg said the changes have been made by the ECI to facilitate the first voters to enroll in the voters list four times a year to exercise their right to franchise during the elections. Given these Amendments, those citizens who have attained the age of 18 years as of 1st April 2024 can also register themselves as voters for casting their votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh, he remarked. He was chairing the meeting of the State Systematic Voters Education & Electoral Participation (SVEEP) core committee meeting held here on Monday.
The new voters can also check their name in the voters list by downloading the Voters Helpline App (VHA) from Google Play and the new voters need to register themselves by filling up Form-6. The CEO emphasized the need to make the youth aware of the misconception that if they have voted for the Panchayat elections they were also automatically eligible to vote in Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections, which is not correct. Such new voters need to register themselves in the electoral rolls by filling up FORM-6 as prescribed by ECI to obtain their EPIC (cards). The new voters can fill out an online Form-6, while overseas voters need to fill out Form 6A on the Voter’s service portal https://voters.eci.gov.in or Voter Helpline App (available on Google Play store-Android or App store-iOS). Detailed discussions were also held regarding formulating a comprehensive SVEEP strategy, Action Plan, and monitoring of Voter awareness work throughout the State.
The CEO said that under the guidance of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the state election department was envisaging engaging more youth and increasing their turnout. While emphasizing on campaigns like Mission-414 (in which there was less than 60 percent voter turnout in 414 polling stations) 22 going to 72, (where voters turnout was less than 72 percent in LSE 2019), he said that Doordarshan and All India Radio should make programs and short reels for social and electronic media to disseminate the message of ‘No voter to be left behind’. Besides, they should make reels and record messages of centenarian voters at least once in each district. He also deliberated on the need to engage the volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra’s and Self Help Groups (SHG) to educate the rural populace of the state and work on mission mode in such 414 polling stations and motivate the women in such other 08 constituencies where women voter turnout remained less in LSE, 2019, particularly in few Assembly segments of Shimla, Chamba, and Sirmaur. Additional CEO, Daleep Negi, and Neelam Dulta, representatives of the Doordarshan, All India Radio, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Youth Service and Sports, Postal department, and social media experts were among others present on the occasion .