Democracy Across Continents: Indian Elections and NRI Voting Rights”
Elections are often called the biggest festival of democracy, but what can one do if they do not live in their native country anymore? Will you be allowed to vote for nonresident in Indians?
The answer is yes. Indian law allows its citizens living overseas to vote during elections, but one has to be physically present in the country. If you’re wondering how, then there’s a step by step guide for you to cast your vote during the 18th Lok Sabha election in India,
the government of India has called on NRI voters to cast their votes. First, let’s understand who is an NRI or overseas voter.
The category comprises of all indian citizens who are residing in any other country. Their purpose of stay could vary from employment to higher education to numerous other reasons.
The only prerequisite is that the individual should not have citizenship of any other country. The citizens living overseas can register themselves with the Election Commission of India as voters under the address listed on their indian passport. Now that we know who’s eligible to vote, let’s move on to our next question. How can I vote?
The first step is to fill out form six a online at the voter portal. The applicants will have to upload their necessary documents along with their form.
The documents include a recent passport sized coloured photograph, self attested photocopies of their passport that shows your photographs, addresses in India and a valid visa endorsement.
Once you have all this ready, you can submit your form in person or via email to the electoral registration officer. If you’re mailing your application, you need to make sure all your photocopies are self attested. However, if you’re submitting the form in person, you will have to carry your original passport for verification. Once you’re done submitting your form,
the booth level officials will visit the address mentioned in your passport for verification. If there is no one available for the verification process, the records are sent to the concerned indian mission.
The electoral registration officer’s decision is then notified to the applicant via post and a2024 message will be sent to the mobile number mentioned in the form six a you in case the electoral role has got your information wrong, do not worry, you can still fix it. According to Election Commission of India’s website,
the information can be omitted using form eight. Elections are a crucial process in any democracy and the right to cast.
Democracy Across Continents: Indian Elections and NRI Voting Rights”