Youths enthusiastic to enroll as voters

HYDERABAD: First-time voters from across the state are quite enthusiastic to enroll their names with the Election Commission of India (EC). In order to cast their vote in the ensuing Assembly elections, many youth submitted their application forms online or physically. Interestingly, of the four lakh applications that were submitted to the EC in recent times, the share of young voters is high.

Earlier, EC permitted youth to enroll their names by the January 1 cut-off date. It subsequently stretched the date to April, July and October, providing a chance to all first-time voters to enroll themselves all through the year.

Enrollment of those in the age-group of 18-19 years has gone up to 2,78,650 in comparison to the previous year’s figure of 83,207.

Those aged 17 years submitted advance applications for enrollment as voters after the commission allowed them to pre-register for inclusion in the electoral roll.

Chief electoral officer Vikas Raj said that the enrolment of electors is a continuous process and eligible citizens who could not apply during the SSR-2023 can do so through the NVSP website, voter helpline App or in physical forms.  New applications will be processed in due course, Raj explained.