E-Paper
Bihar gears up to publicise postal ballot option for Covid-19 electors
A few rounds of meetings of the state election department and health officials have been held to chalk out the processes of verifying the applications by Covid-suspect electors or infected persons to cast their votes by postal ballot.
The election department in Bihar is gearing up for effective implementation of the new facility for eligible voters who are Covid-19 positive or suspect patients to use the option of postal ballot by carrying awareness drives at hospitals, medical facilities and public places so that they can vote in the upcoming assembly polls scheduled in October-November.
Election officials said a few rounds of meetings of the state election department and health officials have been held to chalk out the processes of verifying the applications by Covid-suspect electors or infected persons to cast their votes by postal ballot.
The state government has published the Election Commission notification in the state gazette on Wednesday regarding the option for postal ballot including those extended to voters above 80- years and physically disabled electors categorised in electoral rolls.
“We have directed the district officials to carry awareness drives of postal ballot option for Covid positive voters or suspects. We will intensify it by reaching out to hospitals and public places across the state so that voters who are either in hospitals or in home quarantine after getting infected could use the postal ballot option subject to making an application,” Bihar’s additional chief electoral officer, Ranjita said.
Under the guidelines issued by EC for postal ballot, voters affected by Covid-19 or suspected to have symptoms of the pathogen (either in hospital or home quarantine) can use the postal ballot option by applying to the returning officer (RO) concerned of the constituency within five days of the notification of the elections in the state.
State election officials said the applications to vote through postal ballot by Covid-infected electors could be high this time in wake of the surging infections.
The applicants will have to provide necessary documents like a copy of a certificate/instructions from competent health authorities which show that the applicant is hospitalised in the state or is in quarantine within the state (home or institutional) on account of Covid-19.
Election officials said the office of the RO of each constituency will verify the applications from Covid-19 positive voters keen on using postal ballot by assessing the records of the health department and local administration. Subsequently, a two member team of polling officials will visit the elector either at their home or hospital for registering the postal ballot from the applicant by issuing an advance information through mobile message or through post.
“The polling teams in each district constituency wise are being drawn up who will be visiting the electors opting for postal ballot including Covid -19 affected persons at their place of stay,” said a state election officer, in know of the matter.
Incidentally, the polling team would visit the electors (opting for postal ballot) second time by giving advance information in case the voter is not present at the given address at the first visit.
This time, the EC has made a provision that voters would be screened at the polling stations before entering to vote through thermal scanner and those having higher temperature than prescribed level would be asked to come at around 5 pm for casting votes. The poll officials at the booths would be wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) from 5 pm to 6 pm – the last hour of polling- as electors showing signs of sickness or those infected with Covid-19 in home quarantine would be allowed to cast their votes under the supervision of health officials, sources said.
Significantly, all voters at the booths would be also be provided one glove to press the EVMs and would have to wash their hands with santizers before entering the booths, as per the comprehensive plan prepared by the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar to maintain safety of voters amid the pandemic.
