As the Election Commission begins to prepare for next year's assembly elections, it has directed election-related machinery in the five polling states to increase voter registration, with a focus on young, first-time voters and women of voting age who are not yet on the electoral rolls.
Chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra, speaking at a two-day workshop on the EC's key voter awareness and inclusion initiative – the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative – that ended on Thursday, urged the chief electoral officers of poll-bound states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur to get to work right away on increasing voter registration rather than waiting. He urged that efforts should be made to register all newly eligible voters, as well as to ensure that the ratio of male to female voters on the electoral registers matches the gender ratio in the area as of the 2011 census.
The CEC placed a special emphasis on identifying low-turnout areas in polling states — places whose voting percentages were much lower than the statewide average – and tailoring the SVEEP strategy to increase voter awareness and engagement.
To encourage new voters to participate in polls, the EC has launched a new communication initiative, which includes a personalised letter from the commission welcoming each new voter as a "valued member of the world's largest democracy" and asking him to vote ethically in each election, wisely choose his representative, and be a "informed" voter.
The CEC stressed to the SVEEP workshop, which was attended by senior EC officials, CEOs, and SVEEP nodal offices from five polling states, that the field teams should ensure that the enrolling process is seamless and that the voters' polling experience is pleasant and hassle-free. He emphasised the importance of putting the approach into action on the ground, with the block level officer serving as the primary point of contact with voters.
Chandra emphasised the importance of a 360-degree SVEEP communication plan to guarantee that all election-related information is available to voters. EC has invited officials from the ministry of information and broadcasting to the workshop for this purpose.
"It was to ensure synergy between EC and I&B ministry for maximizing reach of SVEEP with strategies that are in line with the social milieu of the area. For instance, while social media campaigns would work in cities, a nukkad sabha would have more appeal in the villages," said an EC functionary.
