Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001
No. 52/2023/SDRIVoUV
Dated: 31st October, 2023
To,
The Chief Electoral Officers of
All States and Union Territories
Subject: Guidelines on Postal Ballot Papers in a General/Bye Election to the House of the
People, Legislative Assemblies of the Statesl UTs - regarding.
Reference:
1. Letter No. 52/2008/J.S.lI dated 21.10.2008
2. Letter No. 52/2009/SDR
(JS-II), dated 25.03.2009.
3. Letter No. 5212012/SDR, dated 13.08.2012.
4. Letter No. 5212012/SDR, dated 16.10.2012.
5. Letter No. 52/2012/SDR, dated 01.11.2012.
6. Letter No. 5212014-SDRI, dated 07.03.2014.
7. Letter No. 52/2014-SDR-Vol. I, dated 09.04.2014.
8. Letter No. 576/3/20151 SDRI Vol. II, dated 21.05.2015.
9. Letter No. 52/2015/SDR-Vol. I, dated 18.09.2015.
10. Letter No. 52/20 16/SDR-VoU dated 24.02.2016.
11. Letter No. 52/ECIILET/FUNC/JUD/SDRl2016
dated 04.10.2016.
12. Letter No. 576/3/ECI/LET/FUNC/JUD/SDRl2016
dated 13.10.2016.
13. Letter No. 52/ERlECIILET/JUD/SDRIVOL.I12014,
dated 20.01.2017.
14. Letter No. 52/ECIILET/JUD/SDRl2017/VOL-I,
dated 22.02.2017.
15. Letter No. 52/LET/ECIIFUNC/JUD/SDRl2018-VoU
dated 15.02.2018.
16. Letter No. 52/LET/ECI/FUNC/JUD/SDRl2018-VoI.II
dated 09.08.2018.
17. Letter No. 52/2019/SDR
- VoUII, dated 08.03.2019.
18. Letter No. 52/2020/SDRIVol.I,
dated 03.10.2020.
19. Letter No. 52/2021/SDRIVOL.I, dated 02.02.2021.
20. Letter No. 52/2021/SDRIVOL.I, dated 08.03.2021, and
21. Letter No. 52/2021/SDRIVOL.I, dated 17.03.2021.
Madam/Sir,
I am directed to state that Section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
specifies the special procedure for voting by postal ballot by certain classes of persons. It
provides that provision for postal ballot may be made by the rules under the Act. Accordingly, a complete legal framework has been put in place in Rules 17 to 27L of the Conduct of Elections
Rules, 1961.
2.
For smooth functioning of postal ballot system defined under Section 60 and Rules
referred to above, the Commission has been issuing detailed instructions from time to time for
voting by postal ballot by each of the categories of voters mentioned therein. These instructions
have been modified and refined at various occasions.
For giving clarity to various aspects of
postal ballot system, exhaustive instructions consolidating all the instructions on the subject
listed above are hereby issued in supersession of the existing instructionsI.
General Instructions:
3.
Rule position: As mentionedabove, all the relevantrules relating to the process of postal
ballot system, persons entitled to vote by post, Form of ballot paper and envelopes, process of
recording of vote, etc. are given in Rule 17 to Rule 27L contained in PART-III and PART-IlIA
of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961. The concept of 'postal ballot' has evolved into an
importantmode of voting forthe voters who are not able to physicallyvote at polling station, due
to various reasons. In 2016, an amendment was made in Rule 23, to make a provision for oneway online transmission of postal ballot for Service Voters. Similarly, in 2019 category of
'Absentee Voters' was introduced by modifying Rule 18.A new class of voter, i.e., 'COVID 19
suspect or affect persons' was added to 'Absentee Voter', defined in Rule 27A, by a further
amendment to the rules in June, 2020. This year, with insertion of Rule 18A for a Voter on
ElectionDuty, voting at facilitationcentre has been made mandatory.
4.
Categories of voters entitled to vote by postal ballot: As per Rule 18,the following
classes of persons are entitled to vote by post in an election to House of the People and
State Legislative Assembly:
(i)
Specialvoters,
(ii)
ServiceVoters, other than those who opt for proxy voting (CSV),
(iii)
Voters on Election Duty,
(iv)
Electorssubjectedto preventivedetention,
(v)
Personsnotified under clause (c) of Section 60 of the Representationof the People
Act, 1951,including' Absentee Voters'.
5.
Intimation/application
by voters for postal ballot and time limit for submission: A
voter belonging to any of the above categories who wishes to vote by post at an election shall
send an intimation/ application in a statutory Form specified under Rules 19, 20 and 27C to the
Returning Officer with in the given period. A Special Voter who wishes to vote by post shall
send intimation in Form 12 to the Returning Officer so as to reach him at least 10 days before the
date of poll. A Voter on Election Duty shall make an application in Form 12 to the Returning
Officer so as to reach him at least 7 days or such shorter period as the Returning Officer may
allow before the date of poll. A voter on election duty who is being deployed as polling officer,
presiding officer or other election duty in the constituency of which he is an elector, wishes to
vote in person and not by post, he shall submit an application in Form 12A to the Returning
Officer so as to reach him at least 4 days or such shorter period as he may allow before the date
of poll, the Returning Officer shall issue to the applicant an Election Duty Certificate (EDC) in
Form 12B. Persons of various classes of Absentee Voters can submit application in Form 12D to
the Returning Officer within a period starting from date of commencement of election schedule
upto 5 days following date of notification. As a Service Voter does not have the option for
physical voting at a polling station, he is not required to submit any application for postal ballot
and the Returning Officer shall issue postal ballot to all the Service Voters registered in the last
part of the electoral roll of the constituency.
6.
Specifications and Forms of postal ballot for different categories:
6.1.
Form, language and particulars of Postal Ballot for Service Voters: The following
specifications are prescribed for preparation of postal ballot for Service Voters:
(i)
Name of the candidate and party affiliation shall be printed together. The name of
political party which has set up the candidate is to be printed below the name of the
candidate in the same panel. In the case of an independent candidate, the word
"Independent" shall be printed in place of a political party.
(ii)
These particularsshall be both in the official language of the State and in English.
(iii)
Photographsof candidatesshall be printed on the right side of the name - between the
name and the column for marking vote/preference
(iv)
Election Symbol of the candidatesis not to be printed.
(v)
The width of the printed portion in the ballot papersshall be between 4" and 6".
(vi)
The last panel below the panels containing the name and particulars of the candidates
shall be for "None of the Above".
(vii)
The particulars on the counterfoil shall be printed in English only.
(viii)
The template of postal ballot for Service Voters is provided in the ETPBMS portal.
The counterfoil in case of ePB is maintained in the data base and is corresponding to
the ePB number generated electronically for each ePB.
6.2. Form, language and particulars
of Postal Ballots for voters other than Service Voters:
The postal
ballots
for other
categories
(i.e. other
than
Service
Voters)
are prepared
conventionally. The specifications for the Postal Ballot papers for these categories are as under:
(i)
Names of candidates shall be printed both in the official language of the State and
also in English.
(ii)
The photograph of the candidate shall be printed in the panel for the name of the
candidate. It shall appear on the right side of the name in between the name of the
candidate and the symbol.
(iii)
Party affiliation of the candidate is not required to be printed. However, election
symbol allotted to the candidate shall be printed.
(iv)
The election symbol shall be printed on the right side of the photograph of the
candidatebetweenthe photograph and the space for marking vote.
(v)
The name of a candidate and his symbol shall be inscribed in one panel. The panels
will be separatedfrom each other by shaded area of 3 em width.
(vi)
There will be a thick black border of 1 em at the bottom. The width of the ballot
paper, when printed in one column,shall be between 4" and 6" as may be considered
convenientby the Chief Electoral Officer.
(vii)
The last panel below the panels containing the names and particulars of the
candidates shall be for "None of the Above". The symbol for "None of the Above"
option as specified by the Commission shall be printed against the column meant for
printing of election symbol.
(viii)
Every such postal ballot paper shall have a counterfoil attached to it. The counterfoil
shall be at the top of the postal ballot paper and its depth shall not ordinarily exceed
15 em. The particulars on the counterfoil shall be printed in English only. The
counterfoil should be at the top and should have space for stitching the postal ballot
from at the top;
(ix)
These postal ballot papers shall be stitched into convenient bundles, with consecutive
serial numbers. The serial number of each ballot paper and its counterfoil shall be
identical.
(x)
The postal ballot paper shall have a black border of I em at the top of the counterfoil;
(xi)
The particulars of the election, as mentioned below, printed immediatelybelow item.
(xii)
The words "Electoral Roll Part Number and Serial Number of Elector," shall be
printed one below the other on the left-hand side or right-hand side as may be
convenient;
(xiii)
Serial number of the ballot paper on the left-hand side either on the front or on the
back as may be convenient.
(xiv)
One block of lines of 1 em with a perforated rule/disjointed straight lines below,
separatingthe ballot paper fromthe counterfoil.
(xv)
There shall be one block of lines of 1 em below the perforated rule/disjointed lines on
the postal ballot paper.
(xvi)
On the top of the front face of the ballot paper, the particulars (No. and name of
constituency as mentioned in Delimitation Order) of the constituency and the type of
election (General election/Bye-election)shall be printed. In the case of State/Union
Territories the whole of which form a Parliamentary Constituency,their names will
not find mention in the Delimitation Order. The name of such State/Union Territory
shall be mentioned as the name of the Parliamentary Constituency. The year of
election and the legend "Genl." or "Bye" will also be printed after the year depending
on whether the ballot paper is printed for a general election or a bye-election. The
word "Postal Ballot Paper" shall be endorsed below that entry. The following
illustrationswill make the position more clear:
a) For General Election to the House of the People Postal Ballot Paper (on
white paper) "8-Rampur PC. /2019 Genl. Postal Ballot Paper"
b) For Bye-election to the House of the People Postal Ballot Paper (on white
paper) "8 - Rampur PC. /2022 Bye Postal Ballot Paper"
c) For General Election to the Legislative Assembly Postal Ballot Paper (on
pink paper)" 11-Almora AC.l2021 Genl. Postal Ballot Paper"
d) For Bye-election to the Legislative Assembly Postal Ballot Paper (on pink
paper)" 11-Almora AC.l2021 Bye Postal Ballot Paper"
6.3. Common specificationsfor both the categories of postal ballot papers:
(i) The size of the photograph printed on the ballot paper for both types of postal ballots
shall be 2em in breadth and 2.5em in height.
(ii) The names of the contesting candidates will appear in the same order as they appear in
the list of contesting candidates in Form 7A (but without the headings of the three
categories of candidates mentioned therein).
(iii)Where the number of contesting candidates exceeds 8, the postal ballot paper shall be
printed in two or more columns depending upon the number of candidates. Ordinarily,
the number of candidates along with provision for "None of the above" panel in one
column should not exceed nine, but it should not exceed fifteen in any case. If the
number of columns is two, three or more, the width of the ballot paper and its counterfoil shall be dependent on the number of columns, which are provided on the postal
ballot paper. In such case, each column shall be separated by a shaded area of half an
inch width from top to bottom.
(iv)These names of contesting candidates will be printed starting from Serial No. 1 to
Serial No. 9 in Form 7A in the first column, while candidates from Serial No. 10
onwards in Form 7A will be printed in the second column and so on.
(v) If the number of contesting candidates is 10 then the panel showing "None of the
Above" will be at Sl. No.II in the second panel of the second column. If the number of
contesting candidates including the provision for "None of the Above" panel is not
exactly divisible by the number of candidates in each column, the end panels on the
right side of the ballot paper will be completely shaded.
7.
Documentsto be issued by Returning Officer alongwith postal ballot paper:
Rule 23 and Rule 27E provide that on receipt of an application in the specified Form
from an eligible voter, the Returning Officer shall issue/provide a postal ballot to him together with following documents:
(i) Postal Ballot Paper,
(ii) Form 13A - Declaration by Elector,
(iii)Form 13B - Cover A (Inner Envelope),
(iv)Form 13C- Cover B (Outer Envelope),
(v) Form 130 - Instructions for the Guidance of Elector.
8.
Colour of postal ballot paper and envelopes: The postal ballot papers and envelopes
for Service Voters shall be of white colour in all types of election. The colour of postal ballot
papers and envelopes for voters other than Service Voters shall be as follows:
(i) White colour for Lok Sabha election, whether general or bye-election;
(ii) Pink colour for Vidhan Sabha election whether general or bye-election.
9.
Timeline for issuing postal ballots by Returning Officer: When the Returning Officer
issues a postal ballot paper to a voter, the serial number of the elector in the relevant part of
electoral roll is to be entered in the counterfoil of the said ballot paper. Simultaneously, the
Returning Officer will mark "PB" in the marked copy of the electoral roll against the name of the
elector to indicate that a postal ballot paper has been issued to the elector and he shall not be
allowed to vote at the polling station. This marked copy will be given to the concerned Presiding
Officer for marking the names of electors who cast their vote at the polling station on the day of
poll. It is clear from the above that once the marked copy of the electoral roll is ready to be sent
to the Presiding Officers under clause (a) of sub rule (5) of Rule 23, no postal ballot paper can be
issued by the Returning Officer. It should be noted that once a postal ballot paper is issued to a
voter on election duty, he/she can vote only through the Postal Ballot and option of voting at
polling station will not be available to him.
10.
Status of Postal Ballot Papers returned undelivered: Rule-26 provides that if a postal
ballot paper and the other connected papers sent by post are returned to the Returning Officer
undelivered, he may re-issue them by post or may deliver it to the elector personally on a request
being made by the elector. In case there is no request for re-issue, the Returning Officer shall
keep them separately in an envelope superscribed 'Postal Ballot Papers Returned Undelivered'.
The Returning Officer shall maintain a day-to-day record of all such postal ballots returned
undelivered. On the day of counting, the candidates should be intimated the total number of such
postal ballot papers returned undelivered. After election, the sealed envelope containing postalballot returned undelivered should be kept in the safe custody of District Election Officer along
with the documents specified in sub- rule (2) of Rule 92.
11.
Recording of vote, sealing and returning
of marked postal ballot:
11.1.
Before the postal ballot papers are issued to all electors entitled to vote through Postal
Ballot, except Service Voters (who are issued ETPBs), the facsimile signature of the RO will be
stamped on the reverse side of the postal ballot paper two times, one which will appear in full
and the other in such a manner that part of the signature appears side of postal ballot paper and
the remaining part appears on the reverse of counterfoil of the ballot paper. A sample is enclosed
for guidance at ANNEXURE 1.
11.2.
Rule 24 specifies the method of recording of choice by an elector on a postal ballot paper.
The detailed directions relating to recording of vote by the elector, attestation on declaration,
sealing of envelopes and sending the same to the Returning Officer are contained in Form 130.
There is no specified mark of recording of vote. A voter can put a 'cross' (X) or 'tick'(v) against
the name of the candidate of his choice. After marking the choice, he will fold the postal ballot
paper, put in the inner cover in Form 13B and paste it. Then the voter shall sign the declaration
in Form 13A in the presence of and have the signature attested by the concerned authority as
mentioned in Form 13D. Thereafter, both Form 13B containing the postal ballot and duly
attested Form 13A shall be put separately in outer envelope in Form 13e and sealed by the voter
himself. This envelope shall be returned to the Returning Officer by post! at facilitation centre/
through the poll team, as the case may be.
II.
Procedures of voting through postal ballot by various categories of voters:
12.
Special Voters:
12.1.
As defined in Rule 17, a 'Special voter' means any person holding a declared office
under the provisions of sub-section (4) of Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act,
1950. Spouse of such person, if he or she has been ordinarily residing with her/him is also
eligible to be registered as a special voter. If a special voter wishes to vote by post at an election,
he/she shall send intimation in Form 12 to the Returning Officer so as to reach him at least 10 days before the date of poll.
12.2.The Returning Officer shall prepare a list of the Special Voters whose intimation has been
received in time and manner and issue Postal Ballot Paper to each of such voters as per the address given by him/ her in Form 12. As provided in Rule 23, the Returning Officer may deliver
the postal ballot and other Forms, or cause them to be delivered, to such voters, personally.
13.
Service Voters:
13.1. Section 20(8) of the RP Act, 1950 defines the term 'Service Voter'. 'Service Voter' is
one who is:
(i) a member of the armed forces of the Union; or
(ii) a member of a force to which the provisions of the Army Act, 1950have been made
applicable whether with or without modifications(e.g., member of para military
force); or
(iii) a member of an armed police force of a State, who is servingoutside that state; or
(iv)a person who is employed underthe GovernmentofIndia, in a post outside India.
13.2. Plainly speaking, the following categories of personnel/ government officials have
service qualification and thus are eligible for enrolment as Service Voters and consequently
entitled for voting by post -
(i)
Members of Indian Army, Navy and Air Force
(ii)
Personnel of Central Paramilitary Forces, namely, GREF, BRO, BSF, ITBP,
Assam Rifles,NSG, CRPF, CISF and SSB
(iii)
Personnelof State Armed Police Force, posted outside the State, and
(iv)
Governmentof India employees posted in Indian Missionsabroad.
13.3. The spouse of the Service Voter ordinarily residing with him/her at the place of posting is
also eligible for registration as Service Voters and thus entitled for the facility of postal ballot.
However, the persons other than spouse (like parents, children, siblings and domestic servants
etc.), are not entitled for the postal ballot facility even if they are ordinarily residing with the
Service Voter.
13.4. The Service Voters are enrolled in the last part of the roll of the constituency. Since the
Service Voters cannot vote physically at the polling station, they have option of voting by postal
ballot. Service Voters belonging to the Armed Forces and members belonging to a Force to
which provisions of the Army Act 1950 applies have been provided the option to vote either
through proxy or through postal ballot papers. Such Service Voters, who opt to vote through
proxy, have been categorized as "Classified Service Voters" (CSVs). The CSV is required to
appoint a person who is resident of the area covered by the constituency concerned, as his/herproxy in Form 13F submitted to the Returning Officer before the last date for making nomination
at that election. The proxy should be of at least 18 years of age and shall not be disqualified for
registration as an elector. Appointment of a proxy, once made will be valid for all future
elections so long as the person making the appointment continues to be a Service Voter or till the
appointment is revoked or the proxy dies. The Returning Officer, on the basis of Form 13F of
CSV allows the appointed proxy to vote at the polling station of the area which covers CSV's
home address. The CSV who has appointed a proxy shall not be issued a postal ballot paper.
13.5.
Transmission
of postal ballot (ETPBMS):
13.5.1. In order to improve the postal ballot system for Service Voters and to reduce the
travelling time of postal ballots, an amendment was made in 2016 in Rule 23 to introduce oneway electronic transmission of e-Postal Ballot (ePB) to Record Officer/ Unit Officers/In charge
Officers in Missions. In view of this provision, the postal ballot papers for Service Voters are
now prepared and transmitted electronically through a dedicated portal called 'Electronically
Transmitted Postal Ballot Management System' (ETPBMS). The return of the ePB from Service
Voter is to be made by speed post.
13.5.2. ETPBMS is a highly secured system with multiple layers of security. The complete set of
ePB file is encrypted and downloaded only using onetime password (OTP) with a time lapse
mechanism to avoid any misuse. There is a provision of dashboard and MIS reports for all users
such as Returning Officer, District Election Officer, Chief Electoral Officer, ECI Admin, Record
Officer/Unit Officer and Nodal Officer. It has also provision of alert in format of SMS and email
at different stages of transmission of ePB.
13.5.3. ETPBMS is integrated with Department of Posts for tracking of ePB and facilitation of
their transmission through speed post in return journey, without any charge on Service Voter.
13.5.4 Stages oftransmission
of ePB:
(i)
Central Administration
Officer (C- Admin) initiates the 'RO operation'
by
populating ETPBMS portal with the 'start' date &time and the 'end' date & time.
(ii)
Action
by
Returning
Officer:
The
Returning
Officer
shall
login
into
etpbms.eci.gov.in
and perform the following activities for transmission of ePB and
connected Forms, electronically:
(a)
enter/view the election data ofRO's constituency
(b)
enter/view download window for ePB
(c)
enter full and exact postal address for receiving back the marked ePB from
the Service Voters
(d)
load template of the ePB and all connected Forms (Form 13A to 130).
(e)
check the names of candidates, their order and symbol allotted for each of
them
(f)
generate and approve the sample ePB
(g)
generate the PIN and password protected ePB in bulk
(h)
transmit PIN to Record Officer and ePB to Unit Officer
(iii)
Action by Record Officer/Unit Officer/In charge in Missions:
(a)
Record Officer and Unit Officer will login into etpbms.eci.gov.in
(b)
go to dashboard
(c)
click on download (ePB PIN/ePB) or view the report
(d)
RecordOfficer will download ePB PIN
(e)
Unit Officer will download ePB
(f)
The Record Officer shall send PIN to the concerned Service Voter. The
Service Voter will inform PIN to the Unit Officer. The Unit Officer
downloads ePB and open ePB through secured OTP. He will handoverthe
printout of ePB along with Form 13A, Form 130 and labels of Form 13B
and Form 13Ctogether with blank envelopesto the Service Voter.
(g)
Nodal Officer of the concerned Force is also able to monitor download of
ePB/ PIN by Unit Officer/ Record Officer and send alert message to those
officers whose download is pending
13.5.5.The Returning Officers shall ensure that uploading of ePB and the connected papers
mentioned above on the ETPBMS portal is completed by the day following the last date for
withdrawal of candidatures. He shall issue a certificate to the effect that all the uploading has
been done well in the time as specified above.
13.5.6.Timely action by Returning Officer in transmission of ePB will provide more time to the
Units for downloading and printing of the ePB and further delivery to the Service Voters
concerned and also to the Service Voters to cast vote and return marked ePB to the Returning
Officers, by post.
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