Every democracy has a different way of functioning. In some nation, the power is with the President whereas in some the Prime Minister has to do the job. Some have a small population on the flip side some democracies are brimming with overpopulation. Whatever the infrastructure and conditions be, the very fundamental idea of a Democracy stays strong and same. This idea is that of Elections and that too free and fair elections.

For the World’s largest democracy and our nation, there are a few obstacles. One of the main reasons for these obstacles is the ever-increasing population. A very high population poses problems like:-

• Difficulty in creating awareness amongst all the citizens about the Voter ID Lists and EPICs.
• Higher chances of forgery and tampering with the Voter ID List and Election Card.
• Difficulty in creating an efficient mechanism for Voter Registration of a large proportion of people.
• Chaos during the election days.
• Distribution of Election Cards to all those who are registered.
• Maintaining the ever so dynamic Voter ID Lists which need to be revised every now and then.

Although a high population does pose the above mentioned problems but the Election Commission does indeed try its best to counters such obstacles and hence maintain the Voter ID Card Registration and Voting infrastructure with some degree of efficiency.

What are the achievements of ECI in this respect?

The Election Commission of India has a couple of feathers in its cap as far as the Voter ID List maintenance is concerned. For keeping these Voters’ Lists up-to-date, the ECI organizes Voter Registration Drives every now and then in various states. These drives not only catalyzes the process of new voter registration but also checks dynamics of the Voter ID Lists. These dynamics could be defined as the high number of names that need to be included or removed from these lists. This maintenance of Voter ID Lists is highly important because updated lists lead to lower cases of evils like bogus voting and forgery of Voter Identities.

The creation and availability of Voter ID Card Forms over the internet i.e the creation of Voter ID Card Online is another achievement of the Election Commission of India with respect to the obstacle of a high population. With the availability of Voter ID Card forms over the Internet, there is a reduced pressure on physical resources because of the fact that lesser people would need to queue up in front of CEO Offices in order to register themselves in the Voter ID Lists and get their EPICs issued.

Importance of Voter ID Lists.

With the ECI’s efforts to overcome the various obstacles, there are few things that our Voters must also be made aware about. One of the most important things that a voter should keep in mind is the importance of Voter ID Lists over the EPICs. A democracy has a basic ideology of keeping every opinion into account before presenting a leader or a governance body.

Therefore each vote is special and accountable for a better nation. There no voter should be denied this franchise. From the voter’s end, to avoid any denial of this right, they must keep in mind that they have their name in the Voter ID List. This is why we say that the Voters’ List is more important than the Voter ID Card. Having a Voter ID Card is not sufficient enough to gain access to the Electronic Voting Machine at the polling booth. Whereas your name in the Voter ID List would be sufficient even if you fail to bring along your Voter ID Card. Therefore it is mandatory that you register your name into this list of your constituency if your aim is to cast a vote. Any appropriate identity document like your driving license or aadhar card could be used to prove your identity in front of the polling officer, in case you do not have your Voter ID Card.

How to get your name into the Voter ID List?

To get your name into the Voter ID List, you need to fill the Voter ID Card Form 6. This form could either be obtained from the ERO Office of your state OR could be downloaded from the CEO or the ECI website. Here is the link for downloading this new voter registration form that would include your name in the voter id list:- http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/forms/FORM6.pdf

For a detailed guide about voter id registration form 6, click here.

How to check your name in the Voter ID List?

To make sure that your application is successfully submitted and accepted, it is necessary that you check your name in the Voter ID List. For Voter ID Card Delhi, your name in the Voters’ list could simply by sending a text message. You can check the Voter ID List for your name by  typing ‘EPIC(Space)<Voter ID Card Number>’ and sending it to 9211728082. For other states, the citizens could check Voter ID application status by visiting the CEO Website of their respective states.

Image credits- OneIndia