4. Information about
voter id card.
Points to be noted:
What is a voter id card?
Is a voter id card essential for voting?
What should I do if I lose my voter id card?
If I shift my address, do I need to register
a new voter id card?
Security features to prevent electoral
fraud.
Advantages
Disadvantages
5. Introduction to voter
id card.
In a representative government, voting commonly
implies election a way for electorate to select the
candidates for office. A vote is an individual act
of voting by which he or she expresses support
or preferences for certain motions of certain
candidates, a selection of candidates. Voting
process takes place generally at polling booths.
Voting is one of the privileges of living in a
democracy. It provides recognization of their
opinion and choices. In India we have the right
to vote after 18 years of completion. Hence, for
voting a voter ID is very important…
6. 1.What is a voter ID card? Who is
eligible to have a voter ID card?
• Voter ID card or Electors Photo Identity
Card (EPIC) is an identification card
issued by the Election Commission to all
eligible voters, to enable voter
identification on election day.
• All those who are already enrolled in the
voter list are eligible to receive a voter ID
card.
7. 2.Is a voter ID card essential for
voting?
• No. This is a very commonly held myth! Only 2
things are mandatory for voting
• 1.Your name should be there in the list of
registered voters i.e. in electoral roll or voter list.
of your polling booth
• 2.You should carry an approved identity proof
document.
• If you are issued with a voter ID card, you have
to compulsorily carry it on the day of voting as
an identity proof. If you do not possess a voter
ID card, you can carry any one of the approved
identity proof documents on election day.
8. 3.Do I need to register
separately to get a voter ID card?
• Yes, you need to register separately to get a
voter ID card. You need to fill a different form (
Form 001) for this. You can do this either at the
time of submitting your voter registration form (
Form 6) or after you have submitted your voter
registration form and your name appears in the
voter list
9.
10. 4.What should I do if I lose my
voter ID card
• You must lodge an FIR with the police in
the area you lost your voter ID card / EPIC
and submit a copy of the FIR along with
Form 002, to your Electoral Registration
Officer (ERO) or Designated photography
Location (DPL) asking for a replacement.
You must also pay a fee of Rs. 25.
11. 5.My voter ID card has been lost /
destroyed/ mutilated. What should I
do to get a replacement? Which
form should I fill?
• You must apply for a duplicate voter ID
card, through Form 002. You will have to
submit this Form to your Electoral
Registration Officer (ERO)
12. 6.If I shift my address, do I need
to get a new voter ID card?
• No, once issued, your voter ID card is
valid FOREVER.
• The voter ID card is useful only as a voter
identification document at polling booths
on election day. Therefore, it remains valid
even if you have changed your address
from one area to another within the same
city, one city to another within the same
state or even from one state to another.
13. 7.Details on my voter ID card are
wrong / Details related to my voter
ID card in the electoral roll are
wrong. How do I get it corrected?
• You should apply for rectification of these
errors through Form 004. You will have to
submit this at the office of your Electoral
Registration Officer (ERO) or at the
Designated Photography Location (DPL)
when the process of Voter ID Card
preparation is going on.
14. Security features to prevent
electoral fraud.
• a laminated covering to prevent anyone from changing information on
the card
• a fingerprint of the voter on the card as well as on the form used to
produce the voters list
• a photograph of the voter
• the signature of the voter
• background printing in colours others than black to deter fraud through
simple photocopying
• a voter identification number corresponding to the number on the voter
registration form, as a means of controlling the stock of forms and
associated cards
• the residential address of the voter Voter identification cards have
sometimes played a crucial role in increasing the integrity and
consequently the legitimacy of the electoral process. In certain
countries where cards have a large number of security features, they
have become the effective form of citizen identification. Other countries
already have other forms of citizen identification and there is no need
for the election authority to duplicate efforts.
15. Advantages of voter ID card
It is a reliable form of identification.
It serves as acknowledgement that the voter is duly
registered.
It may include several identifying features (e.g.
photograph, signature, fingerprints) to provide greater
assurance that the voter is who he or she claims to be.
It may be marked when the voter has obtained a ballot,
preventing multiple voting.
It can be designed to be suitable for an electorate with a
low literacy rate.
It can be an effective form of identification where many
voters have no fixed address.
It facilitates voting in areas where a voter may not be
known personally.
It can be issued together with voter education material.
16. Disadvantages of voter ID card
It may be very costly to produce and update. This is not always the case, but
costs rise as security features are added and the card comes to be regarded
as the primary piece of identification held by citizens.
The high costs must be borne by the government, the voter or both. If the
cost is passed on to the voter, a lower proportion of eligible voters will obtain
a card.
It can be lost or stolen.
A significant administrative structure must be in place to produce the cards.
It must be produced with appropriate technology. If there is no electricity at
the registration and card-issuing sites, cards may be sealed with a cold
laminate or may be unsealed.
Some voters will arrive at the polling station without their card. Procedures
must be developed to deal with this situation.
It must be updated periodically. Cards wear out over time and the pictures
on them become dated. Hence the need for a system to replace cards
regularly.
The election authority must have a reliable system for delivering cards.
Ideally the card should be produced when the voter registers, but this may
not be practical or feasible.
