The Election Commission of India has openly conveyed its intentions to roll out Plastic Voter ID Cards instead of the present laminated ones. An EPIC is a very important document and hence there shall be no compromises in the quality and maintenance of it. Maintaining the voter id card is in the hands of the bearer or the voter, he/she must take adequate steps to store this document at a safe place and ensure that it is not damaged. The quality of the card is at the disposal of the Election Authorities and their printing partners.

What is the Need for Plastic Voter ID Card?

The current laminated paper voter id card is most commonly issued by the Election Commission of India. However, this quality has some issues that need quick redressal. These reasons call for the need of plastic voter id card: –

•  The Voter’s photograph is Black and White.
• The Paper has a limited shelf life.
• The plastic lamination is not of the highest quality standards.
• The make of the voter id card is such that it is easy to forge.

Thus, the Plastic voter id card must be made more widespread throughout India, because, the current paper cards pose a higher vulnerability for an increased number of fake and defunct voter id cards. This calls for an immediate redressal because bogus voting poses a great threat to the idea of ‘Free and Fair Elections’ in India.

Features of a Plastic Voter ID Card

Here is how a plastic voter id card would perform better than the conventional paper voter card: –

• Plastic coating would make it difficult to replicate and create fake and duplicate plastic voter id cards.
• The voter’s photograph on the plastic voter id card would be in full colour instead of black and white. This would make it easier for the polling officer to establish the identity of the voter and identify bogus voters.
• The plastic voter id card would also act as a potential carrier of smart chips in the future. These chips may revolutionize the way Elections are conducted in India. The current paper and laminated cards may not be able to act as smart cards in the future.
• The plastic voter id card would be easier to store and would have a much higher shelf life as compared to the paper EPICs

Recent News about the Roll Out of Plastic Voter ID Card

Every now and then, the Chief Election Officers of different States announce plans to launch Plastic Voter ID Cards for the voters of the State in question. So here are recent lucky ones: –

• CEO Kerala, Nalini Netto recently announced that the voters of the state would be issued plastic voter id cards. For that, they would have to visit the CEO Kerala website and submit a coloured passport size photograph along with the Aadhar Card number. Those lacking the knowledge of computer could also visit the help desks established at District Collectorate or Taluk offices. A small registration fee would be levied and the voters shall receive their coloured id cards within 2 months.
• Apart from Kerala, the CEO Assam is also very active in rolling out plastic voter id cards. Assam was one of the first states to receive these high-quality EPICs.