Constitutional Right to Vote

The right to vote enables eligible citizens to choose their elected representatives. Articles 325 and 326 give it a constitutional foundation through non-discriminatory electoral rolls and adult suffrage, while election laws regulate its exercise. It is not, by itself, a fundamental right.

Article 325: Equality in electoral rolls

Article 325 establishes a common, non-discriminatory basis for electoral registration.

• There must be one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for elections to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of a State Legislature.
• No person may be excluded from an electoral roll solely on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex, or any combination of these grounds.
• No person may claim inclusion in a special electoral roll solely on any of these grounds. This rules out separate communal electoral rolls, but does not prohibit constitutionally authorised reservation of seats.

Article 326: Adult suffrage

Article 326 requires elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies to be based on adult suffrage.

• Every Indian citizen aged 18 years or above on the legally prescribed qualifying date is entitled to registration as a voter, unless constitutionally or legally disqualified.
• The permitted grounds of disqualification are non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practice.
• The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988 reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years.
• Adult suffrage makes citizenship and age, rather than property, education or income, the basis of electoral participation, subject to lawful disqualifications.

Constitutional guarantee and statutory exercise

The distinction is between the constitutional basis of electoral participation and the legal rules governing an individual's entitlement to vote. Calling voting a statutory right does not remove the guarantees imposed by Articles 325 and 326.

• The Representation of the People Act, 1950 governs electoral rolls and qualifications for registration.
• Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 regulates the right to vote, linking its exercise to entry in the electoral roll and statutory restrictions.
• Although voting is not itself a fundamental right, expression of electoral choice receives protection under Article 19(1)(a). The electoral entitlement and the freedom expressed through voting are therefore distinct legal questions.