Reforms Introduced for the Electorates

The Election Commission has introduced the following reforms to increase awareness among the voters and prevent them from being misled or misguided granting them their right to cast votes freely.

1. Voting Age was Lowered: Initially, the voteable age was 21 years, the 61st Amendment Act of the Constitution reduced this age to 18 years. 
    
2. Introduction of Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs): India started using EVMs in 1982, in one constituency, Pakur, during the Kerala assembly election. In 1988, the Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act in 1951 to make provisions (Section 61A) for the use of EVMs. They were used for the first time in 1998 in the election of Madhya Pradesh, followed by Delhi and Rajasthan assembly elections. Its arena was later spread out in the other states. Presently EVMs are at the center stage of elections, they are indispensable.
    
3. Postal Ballot: The realm of the postal ballot was extended in 2013 to 6 more categories which included, service voters, special voters, spouses of service voters and special voters, voters under preventive detention, voters responsible for election duty, and Notified voters. In 2020 the Electronically Transmitted Postal ballot facility was extended to overseas voters who were eligible, to raise the number of voters which has reduced over the year.
    
4. Voter’s Awareness: The government has taken steps to enhance voters’ awareness by dedicating January 25th as ‘National Voters Day’.
    
5. Restricting Exit Polls: In 2010 exit polls were restricted by introducing Section 126(A) in the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission issued a statement restricting the broadcast of exit polls. They mentioned that exit polls can be broadcasted only after the final phase of elections. This step was taken to prevent voters from being misled.

Electoral reforms in India aim to improve and modernize the country’s electoral system, making it more efficient, transparent, and fair. Elections are a predominant aspect of Democracy. India, as the world’s largest democracy values elections and electoral reforms, to uphold the integrity and authenticity of an ideal democracy. The Indian electoral system has undergone a lot of changes since 1988 which have aimed at making the electoral democracy in India free and fair.