EC begins drive to register over 3.3cr young adults

In the 2014 elections, 66% of the 834 million registered electorate turned up to vote, and unregistered adults add a new dimension to the problem

India has more than 3 crore young adults who are eligible to vote but have not enrolled themselves for voter identity cards, the election commission has said, announcing a new campaign where its officials will go door-to-door to urge people to sign up as electors.

Participation in India’s elections has grown in recent decades but is still far from ideal levels.

For the 2014 general elections, 66% of the 83.4 crore registered electorate turned up to vote. And unregistered adults add a new dimension to the problem.

“From July 1 we have started a special campaign for left out voters, particularly those between 18-21 years. For example, in Uttar Pradesh, there are 75 lakh young voters who were left out (of being enrolled) in the earlier process (sate elections held in February-March) and we want to include them,” chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi told HT.

The 3.3 crore unregistered adults — almost as much as the population of Saudi Arabia — are in the 18-19 age group. The number of people who don’t have voter identification could be significantly higher.

UP has the highest number of unregistered adults. It is followed by Bihar (46 lakh) and Maharashtra (30lakh). Delhi has 5 lakh adults who did not sign up for voter IDs.

A lack of awareness and a bureaucratic lethargy among state election commissions are seen as among key reasons for millions being left out.

Zaidi, who retires on July 5, said among the EC’s initiatives to get more registrations is also an attempt to modify the age rule.