Right to Vote in India

The right to vote is a constitutional right in India under Article 326. It allows all citizens above the age of 18 years, irrespective of their gender, caste, religion or class a right to vote. It ensures a system of democratic accountability allowing citizens to shape governance. It is recognised as a right under international human rights instruments which India is a party to like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.

The evolution of the voting rights in India reflect the socio-political advancements made by the society as a whole. Under the British Colonial Regime, voting privileges of the Indians were limited, which benefited only a select group of few so called “elites”.

With the independence of India, the Indian Constitution brought in Universal Adult Suffrage, guaranteeing voting rights to all the citizens under the age of 18 years and above, irrespective of their religion, caste or gender. This was a revolutionary step as around the world, this free right to vote was not given so easily. For example, the USA gave franchises to women in 1920, Britain in 1928, USSR in 1936. The introduction of Universal Adult Franchise by the Constitution-makers in India was a bold move owing to the huge population, size of the country and the problems of poverty and ill-literacy. Universal Adult Franchise makes democracy broad-based and enhances the self-respect and prestige of the citizen, while allowing them to also protect their interests.

The Right to Vote in India is guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution of India under Article 326. Universal Adult Suffrage/Franchisee (UAF) means that everyone who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth etc. Earlier in India the voting age used to be 21 years. However, the same was reduced to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional amendment Act of 1988. The Constitution of India adopts universal adult franchise as a basis of election to all the State legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha.

Legal safeguards on Right to Vote: Voting is a process where eligible individuals express their preference for a particular candidate, option, or decision in an election. The right to vote allows individuals to hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions and policies, which is the core of democracy. This is secured in two key legal documents in India:-

1. Article 326 of the Constitution: states that
   1. Elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative assembly of every State shall be done on the basis of Adult suffrage.
   2. Every person who is a citizen of India, at least 18 years of age is entitled to vote. However, the persian should not have been disqualified on grounds of:
      1. non-residence,
      2. being of unsound mind (insane)
      3. corruption or any other offence practice.
2. Representation of People Act, 1950: lays down the criterion for qualification and disqualification for being a voter or a candidate contesting election. Section 62 of the Representation of People Act ensures that each person who is within the electoral roll of a constituency is entitled to vote.
   1. Section 16 identifies people who are not allowed to vote which includes:- i) People who are not citizens ii) People declared to be of unsound mind by court iii) People disqualified under a law due to corruption or other offenses relating to elections.
   2. Section 8: lays down offences which disqualify a person from voting.

there has been a prevalent misconception among the majority of the population that the Right to Vote, under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, is a fundamental right. However, the right to vote is accurately categorised as a constitutional right rather than a fundamental one. The critical distinction lies in the fact that constitutional rights, such as the right to vote, can be subject to certain conditions, like attaining the age of 18, whereas fundamental rights are unconditional and apply universally. Therefore, the right to vote is rightfully categorised as a constitutional right, not a fundamental one.

• PUCL Case: The Supreme Court held that the right to vote is a constitutional right shaped by statutory laws like Representation Of Peoples Act (RoPA) 1950.
• Association of Democratic Reforms Case: Supreme Court had recognised that Right to Vote includes the right to know the background of the contesting candidate. Hence the candidates must dissolve criminal charges against them, financial assets and liabilities and their educational qualification.
• PUCL Case, 2013
  • Right to not Vote (NOTA): Earlier Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules of 1961 gave the power to the voter to exercise his Right to not vote. The Voter could exercise this right by registering his electoral roll number in Form-17A with the Presiding Officer. However, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in 2013 directed the Election Commission to provide a button for the same in Electronic Voting Machines (“EVM”). Thereafter the Election commission introduced the “None of the Above” option which allowed the voters to exercise the NOTA option
• Not a Fundamental Duty: While the Swaran Singh Committee had recommended this, it is not a fundamental duty and there are no penalties for not exercising one’s right to vote.

The right to vote for women, also referred as women's suffrage, has been a significant milestone in the history of gender equality and democracy.

• New Zealand : In 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
• Australia : Women were granted the Right to Vote in 1902.
• United Kingdom : In 1918, partial suffrage was granted to the women over 30 years of age who met certain property qualifications. In 1928, full women suffrage was achieved allowing women over the age of 21 to vote.
• USA : In 1920, Right to vote was granted to American women through 19th Amendment to the constitution after decades of struggle and activism.
• India :
  • Pre-Independence :
    • Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919): First time in British India, Montagu Chelmsford reforms introduced limited voting rights for women who met certain property and educational qualifications in provincial elections.
    • Government of India Act (1935): This act expanded the franchise and allowed more women to vote by reducing property and educational qualifications. However, it still did not provide universal suffrage.
  • Post Independence : The adoption of the Indian Constitution on January 26, 1950, granted universal suffrage to all adult citizens, regardless of gender, race, caste, religion, or education.

One can apply online on the National Voters' Service Portal to register as a voter. Once the registration is complete you will be issued an Electoral Photo ID Card (EPIC), which was started in 2021.

Every voter belongs to a constituency when voting during the National or State elections. These constituencies are demarcated during a delimitation exercise under the Constitution. Every constituency has a Voter’s List officially called the Electoral Roll. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that all eligible voters are on the list. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has the responsibility to add new voters as they turn 18 years of age and delete the names of those who have changed residence or died. A complete revision of the list is done every 5 years.

• Non-Resident Indians: NRIs can vote under the RoPA, 1950 since an amendment was made in 2011. They are allowed to vote in person at their constituency based on their residential address mentioned on their passport.
  • ECI has proposed a measure to allow them to vote by postal ballots ETPBS from their respective foreign countries.
• Service Voters & their Spouse: Voters in the Indian armed forces are allowed to vote through the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System or ETPBS.
• Prisoners & Undertrials: They are not allowed to vote.

On the day of election, voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote. A polling booth is located in the locality where one can show their EPIC card, find their name in the Electoral Roll and then cast their vote. Once they have voted, a blue ink is put on the index finger of the right hand to identify that they have voted.

• The ECI sets up polling booths in far off places in India too to ensure that all citizens of India are able to vote with ease no matter where they are situated. ECI officers sometimes use row boats and helicopters to go to inaccessible places.

Electronic Voting Machines are located inside the polling booth where the name of candidates and their party symbols are visible. The voter has to press the button next to the name of the candidate and their vote will be counted. A Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is attached which provides feedback to voters that the option they chose on the EVM was the one which was registered as it generates a paper slip on which it is recorded. VVPATs were first introduced in 2014 elections to eliminate any doubts about accuracy of EVMs.

India has the largest electorate in the world. The voter participation in Indian elections has been increasing from 45% in 1951 to 67% in 2019. Some key facts about them are given below:-

• More electors: There is an 8% increase in the number of voters who registered for the elections in 2024 with most of them being women, persons with disabilities (PwD) and youth.
• Gender Equality: Number of women voters is increasing rapidly with 948 voters for every 1000 males.
• The 2019 elections were unprecedented for the highest voter turnout ever recorded with 67.40% of eligible votes.
• Women voters surpassed male voters in some of the states in the 2019 lok sabha elections.

The law was passed bringing crucial changes to the voter registration process:-

• Aadhaar Linking: Allows for linking of Voter id & Aadhar number to easily verify identity and get voter id made sitting at home. However, furnishing Aadhar is not mandatory for a voter id. Those who don’t give an aadhar card can share some other government identity document.
• Date for Voter Enrollment: While earlier, under RoPA, 1950 January 1 was the last date to enroll, now 4 calendar dates have been recognised to insure inclusion of more voters. These dates are January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.
• Postal Ballots for Spouse of Service Voter: So that they can also vote if they are not at their place of voter registration.

To ensure that as many people as possible turn out to vote, the Election Commission focuses on generating awareness and making the voting process accessible.

• National Voter Day is celebrated on 25 January every year to mark the foundation of the Election Commission of India. On this day awareness is spread to encourage young voters to participate in elections. A function is also held to hand over the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to new voters. In 2024 the theme of the event was ‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For sure’.
• Best Electoral Practices Awards: are given by Election Commission of India to State & District level officers for their outstanding contribution to the election process in India. It also recognises their efforts in creating voter awareness and outreach.
• Holiday on Voting Day: Section 135B of RoPA, 1951, every person gets a leave in the constituency to be able to vote. No salary is deducted on account of taking this leave.
• Model Polling Booths:
• E-EPIC: Voters can download and save their voter id card on Digilocker or download it from Voter Helpline app or website i.e. oterportal.eci.gov.in and nvsp in.
• National Voters’ Service Portal website & Voter Helpline app: for easy voter registration or making amendments in voter id.

The Right to Vote in India is a foundational principle on which democracy is built. It is the essence of democracy which was recognised by the Indian freedom fighters who shunned the limited voting rights during the British Colonial Regime and instead recognised Universal Adult Suffrage under the Indian Constitution. This baton was then transferred to the ECI to ensure the right to vote is actually realised for all. Active efforts are undertaken by the Election Commission of India to make the elections accessible to all through polling booths in far off areas, through digitally available voter id and through accessible booths for people with disabilities.

However there are still challenges to be tackled. Booth capturing and purchase of votes needs to be guarded against vehemently. Stricter regulations for transparency in campaign expenditure and adherence to Model Code of Conduct must be ensured. Decriminalisation of politics is a must and disclosing the correct details of criminal antecedents of candidates must be ensured.

ECI also should develop guidelines and regulations to address the misuse of social media platforms for spreading misinformation, hate speech, or fake news during elections which can mislead voters. Another issue is enabling voting for migrant workers. ECI must develop initiatives to facilitate voter registration and participation for internal migrants, including providing accessible registration facilities in areas with high migrant populations.

The Right to Vote remains a powerful tool that enriches the democratic fabric of the nation, allowing citizens to shape the course of governance and secure their natural rights. It must be guarded and facilitated vociferously to ensure our democracy thrives.