Govt amends rules to allow postal ballots for those aged 85 or above, not 80-plus

“In the conduct of Elections Rules-1961, in rule 27A, in clause (e), for the words and figures ―above 80 years, the words and figures ―above 85 years shall be substituted,” the notification said.

According to the electoral roll published on February 8, out of the total 96.88 crore electors in the country, 1.85 crore were those above the age of 80 years.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar could not be reached for a comment and an EC spokesperson responded with “no comment”.

The postal ballot facility had been extended to persons with disability, absentee voters who are working in essential services and senior citizens (above 80 years) for the first time in 2019, after an amendment to the Conduct of Elections Rules on the recommendation of the ECI. Those who opt for the facility are visited at home by poll officials, who facilitate the filling up of the postal ballots. The whole procedure is done after informing the political parties and under videography.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the facility was extended to those infected or suspected to be infected with the coronavirus, starting with the Bihar Assembly elections in 2020. Before the Bihar elections, the EC had recommended extending the postal ballot facility to those above 65 years of age and the Law Ministry had notified the amendment on June 19, 2020. However, the ECI eventually decided not to extend the facility to those above 65 years. According to EC sources, this was because the number of polling parties that would be required to cover the expanded age group would have been impractical. On August 23, 2023, the Law Ministry again amended the rule to take the eligibility back to 80 years from 65 years.