Electoral Roll Registration under the RPA, 1950

Voter registration means inclusion of an eligible person’s name in the electoral roll of a constituency. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, eligibility primarily depends on citizenship, age, ordinary residence and absence of statutory disqualification.

Core eligibility conditions

Under Section 19, a person is entitled to registration if, on the relevant qualifying date, the person is at least 18 years old and is ordinarily resident in the constituency.

• The qualifying dates are 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October of the year in which the electoral roll is prepared or revised.
• Indian citizenship is mandatory because a non-citizen is disqualified from registration under Section 16.
• Article 326 provides the constitutional basis of adult suffrage for elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Meaning of ordinary residence

Ordinary residence is determined from the person’s actual and usual connection with the constituency. Under Section 20, merely owning or possessing a dwelling there does not by itself establish ordinary residence, while temporary absence does not necessarily end it.

• Persons with a service qualification, and eligible spouses ordinarily residing with them, are governed by special deeming rules for registration.
• Under Section 20A, an Indian citizen living abroad because of employment, education or otherwise, who has not acquired foreign citizenship, may register in the constituency linked to the Indian residence shown in the passport.

Disqualifications and safeguards against duplication

Under Section 16, a person cannot be registered if the person is not an Indian citizen, has been declared of unsound mind by a competent court, or is temporarily disqualified from voting under election law for corrupt practices or election offences.

• Sections 17 and 18 prohibit registration in more than one constituency and registration more than once in the same constituency.
• Eligibility must therefore coexist with a valid constituency connection and freedom from a subsisting statutory disqualification.