In 'Service' of 'Voters'! EC decides to send ETPBS to 1,17,581 service voters posted outside Maharashtra

Mumbai, October 07: Waking ahead in the Maharashtra Assembly polls scheduled by October 21, the Election Commission of India on Sunday revealed the number of service voters who would get an electronically transmitted postal ballot to stand at over 1.17 lakh. Service voters include members of armed forces, police forces of the states serving outside that state as well as persons employed under the Union government on posts outside the country.

 

"We will send Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) to 1,17,581 service voters posted outside Maharashtra, comprising 1,14,496 male and 3,085 women voters", the EC said. As per existing arrangements, members of Army, Navy and Air force, Border Road Organisation, BSF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, NSG, CRPF, CISF and SSB are eligible to be registered as service voters.

 

"The system was first used successfully in an election in Puducherry in 2016. Satara had highest 12,658 ETPBS voters and Ahmedanagar stood second with 10,258, while Palghar made up the rear with just 310 then", it added.

 

As per the EC mechanism, designated officials receive the ballots from the constituency, which is then downloaded after verification, the process involving use of a one-time password. "Once the ballot is received, the voter casts the vote and returns the ballot in a sealed envelope to his seniors", an EC official said.

 

The ETPBS has two security layers, and secrecy of voting is maintained through the use of OTP and PIN and no duplication of casted ETPB is possible due to a unique Quick Response Code. Through this system, service voters cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot from anywhere outside their constituency.