Why is it in the news?

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced the facility of home voting for the first time in the upcoming 2024 elections, aligning with its motto of ensuring that no voter is left behind.

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• This initiative enables eligible voters to cast their votes from the comfort of their homes, facilitated by a full contingent of polling staff and security personnel, ensuring the secrecy of voting is rigorously maintained.
• The home voting facility primarily caters to two groups: persons with disabilities (PwDs) meeting the 40% benchmark disability criteria, and senior citizens aged above 85 years, ensuring inclusivity in the electoral process.

Other initiatives taken by ECI:

• The ECI has eased the voting process for Kashmiri migrants residing in Jammu and Udhampur by abolishing the requirement of Form-M, simplifying the voting procedure for this demographic.
• The ECI employs Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiatives to engage PwDs and sensitize their friends, families, and polling officials, promoting inclusivity and awareness in the electoral process.
• Proposed Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM): This innovation aims to enable migrant voters to cast their votes from their current place of residence, enhancing accessibility and participation in the electoral process.
• The ECI allows certain categories of voters, including special voters, service voters, voters on election duty, and electors subjected to preventive detention, to cast their votes by post, ensuring their participation in the electoral process.
• Registered service voters, including members of the armed forces, police force serving outside their home state, and government employees serving abroad, are eligible to delegate their voting rights to a representative through proxy voting, facilitating their participation in elections despite their geographical location or duty status.