The Election Commission has issued fresh instructions for polling day in Tamil Nadu, ahead of the Assembly election scheduled for April 23.
According to the Commission, if a polling booth agent raises an objection about a voter’s identity, the objection must be treated as a “challenge vote” after collecting a fee of Rs 2 from the agent and issuing a receipt.
After verification, if the objection is found to be incorrect, the voter should be allowed to cast the vote on the machine. In such cases, the Rs 2 collected from the agent should not be returned.
If the objection is proved correct, the Rs 2 should be paid to the agent and the alleged impersonator must be handed over to the police.
The Commission also said that if a voter appears to be under 18, the person may be allowed to vote after obtaining a signed “Declaration about Age” (Annexure-7). Before polling begins, the presiding officer must announce that everyone must maintain voting secrecy as per Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and no one should use finger or body gestures inside the booth to influence voting for any symbol.
