Introduction to Photo Electoral Rolls

Before saying anything about a photo electoral roll, let us make it clear to you, what is an electoral roll. A very basic definition of an electoral roll says that, “An electoral roll also called an electoral register is a list of people who are eligible and registered to vote in a particular area.” Actually, an electoral roll facilitates the process of voting and prevents fraud. It may also be used to select suitable candidates for election duty. Electoral rolls are used in many democratic countries of the world including the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand and most importantly India which is the largest democratic republic of the world.

Electoral Rolls in India
The total lectorate in the country after the recent round of revision by election commission is approximately 714 million compared to 671 million in 2004. That means there is an increase of 43 million in the electorate.

Photo Electoral Rolls in India
As the name suggests, photo electoral roll is one which includes all the details of the voters as mentioned in the electoral roll plus the photograph of the voter. This type of an electoral roll is much reliable as far as fraud prevention is concerned. This is so because, the true identity of the person listed in the electoral roll get disclosed through the photograph, to the staff on duty at the polling booth. So, they may easily recognize the right person with the help of photo electoral rolls.

The concept of photo electoral rolls was first introduced in India in the year 2005. But, at that time it was tested as a pilot project in all constituencies of Kerela and Pondicherry, two constituencies of Haryana and in one constituency of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab each. It was tested during the revision of electoral rolls of the aforesaid states. On the successful completion of the pilot project, this practice was further extended towards assembly elections of 2006 to 2008 in various states including Delhi.

Photo Electoral Rolls in 15th Lok Sabha Elections
The Election Commission of India has made all the necessary arrangements for introducing the photo electoral rolls in the forthcoming general elections. Yes, it is in the 15th Lok Sabha elections which are scheduled to be held in five phases, that entire nation will witness the use of photo electoral rolls for the first time. It will going to be the most significant change in the Indian elections procedure after the introduction of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the elections held in May 2004.

The photo electoral rolls will be used through out the country except in three north-eastern states, namely Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir. According to the Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India, nearly 77% eligible voters have their photographs in the rolls. As every change takes time to get fully effective, this is the reason behind the percentage (of voters with photographs in electoral rolls) being a little less than the maximum.

One may realize that the extent of change in this case is so massive that the above percentage is considered to be good. After all, it is not an easy task to prepare the photo electoral rolls, especially when we are talking about the electoral rolls of a country which is said to be the largest democratic republic of the world. But, this percentage is bound to rise in the future elections, as the time passes.

Out of 543 Parliamentary Constituencies, photo electoral roll will be used in 522 Parliamentary Constituencies as well as in all the Legislative Assembly Constituencies in Sikkim, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Photographs of 82% electors are printed in the electoral rolls. This will facilitate easy identification.