RaipurThe Chief Electoral Officer, Reena Babasaheb Kangale, on Tuesday announced the initiation of a significant campaign to add new voters in Chhattisgarh, starting from Wednesday and running until August 31. The primary objective of this initiative is to include new voters who have reached the age of 18 into the voter list. As part of this endeavor, a grand walkathon will be held in Raipur, commencing at 7:00 AM from Gandhi Udyan and culminating at the Shaheed Smarak Bhavan via GE Road on Wednesday.During this campaign, special drives will be conducted across all 90 constituencies of the state to encourage eligible citizens to register themselves as voters. Despite the campaign’s end date being August 31, new voters can still enroll after this period. The final publication of the updated voter list will occur on October 4, and the upcoming Assembly elections will be based on this comprehensive list.To promote inclusivity and accessibility in the electoral process, the Chief Electoral Officer has announced special facilities for Divyang (differently-abled) voters. These individuals will now have the option to cast their votes from the comfort of their homes, without the need to visit physical polling booths. Registration for this facility requires filling out Form 6, which has been linked with Form 8, enabling voters to provide information about their disabilities. The Election Commission will use this data to facilitate remote voting for Divyang voters, ensuring their participation in the democratic process. The process will be recorded and information will be shared with political parties.Additionally, the state has observed a significant rise in female voters, marking a positive shift in gender representation. Recent data reveals that the number of female voters has surpassed that of male voters, with 1003 female voters for every 1000 male voters, as compared to 1000 female voters previously.In conjunction with the campaign, special voter camps (Shivirs) will be established at polling booths in all 90 constituencies. These camps will be available on specific dates, namely August 12, August 13, August 19, and August 20, to assist citizens in adding or updating their names in the voter list.To further ease the registration process, new voters can also avail themselves of online options. Mobile apps and websites, such as the Voter Service Portal (voters.eci.gov.in) and the Voter Helpline app, provide convenient ways to correct details, update addresses, and apply for identity cards, ensuring their names are duly included in the voter list.The Chief Electoral Officer emphasized that the campaign to add names to the voter list will persist even after August 31. As a result, citizens will have ample time to enroll before nominations commence, with the window for new voter registrations extending until 10 days before the nomination deadline.To ensure an accurate and updated voter list, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office has rigorously verified voter IDs using Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Through this process, approximately one lakh duplicate entries have been successfully removed from the voter list.Regarding the linking of voter IDs with Aadhaar cards, the Chief Electoral Officer clarified that it remains a voluntary procedure. Although 90 percent of voter cards in the state have been linked with Aadhaar, it is not mandatory for the current registration process.
