Covid patients, seniors may use postal ballot

NEWDELHI: The ministry of law and justice amended the rules to allow those over the age of 65 and Covid positive patients, under home quarantine or hospitalized, to use the postal ballot to exercise their right to vote.

The move comes ahead of Bihar elections, which are slated to take place in October this year.

In the Rajya Sabha polls held last month, the election commission had allowed a Covid-19 positive legislator in Madhya Pradesh to vote at the polling booth. All the officials, and the legislator, were clad in PPE suits to reduce any chance of transmission of the virus.

Earlier, casting votes through postal ballots was available only to armed forces and officials assigned poll duties. Those over the age of 65 years and people infected with coronavirus or suspected of having contracted the infection will be allowed to vote by postal ballot after the government amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

Those who have mild symptoms and are not in any medical facility but in home quarantine can also vote through postal ballot. In several health advisories, people over the age of 65 have been asked not to venture out as they are particularly vulnerable to catching the highly contagious virus.

In February, Delhi became the first state to experiment with postal ballots, extending the facilities to those with severe disabilities or above the age of 80 years.

The elections to fill 19 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha in nine states were originally to take place in March but were deferred after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. They were then held in June and arrangements were made to allow members who are unwell to vote through postal ballot. HTC