Unique Voter Enrolment Drive held at Colleges in Mysuru

Mysore/Mysuru: With only one-fifth of the eligible young voters (17,000 out of 85,000 voters) getting enrolled in the draft electoral rolls, the Office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC), in association with the Department of Collegiate Education and Department of Pre-University Education, held a one-day unique voter enrolment drive Prajaprabhutvakkagi Ondu Gante’ (An Hour for Democracy), at all PU Colleges, Degree Colleges and other higher educational institutions across the city and district today under SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) programme.

The campaign was held after the Election Commission of India (ECI) allowed 17-year-olds to register in advance. Accordingly, those above 17 can now apply in advance for getting enrolled in the voters list and need not wait to fulfil the pre-requisite criterion of attaining the age of 18 as on Jan.1 of a year.

Mysuru DC Dr. K.V. Rajendra, who is also the District Election Officer, formally launched the drive at a programme held at Maharani’s PU College for Girls on N.S. Road in city this morning.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that the drive is held with an objective of greater public participation for a stronger democracy.

Pointing out that only 17,000 out of the 85,000 eligible young voters in the district have enrolled in the electoral rolls so far, Dr. Rajendra said he was delighted for getting an opportunity to interact with students who are aged over 17 years and educate them on the need for registering themselves in the electoral rolls and make an informed decision during the elections.

“An hour for democracy electoral roll enrolment drive is aimed at making young voters participate in Democracy. With the 2023 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on way, the district administration conducted this unique drive for the benefit of students who can now enrol online through Voter Helpline App. New voters can also call Toll-free Helpline No.1950 for any clarification or other details they want,” the  DC said.

Continuing, Mysuru DC Dr. K.V. Rajendra said that an applicant can register 6 new voters one time through the App.

As such the applicant, other than filing his/her own application, can also make efforts to register five others who could be his/her family members or friends who are eligible but not yet registered.

Noting that the students should not just keep quiet after filing their online applications, the DC said that they should follow up their application and get updated until their name finds mention in the regular electoral rolls without any errors.

“The electoral roll will be updated every quarter. For the current round of annual revision of electoral roll 2023, any citizen attaining the age of 18 years by Apr.1, July 1 and Oct. 1 of 2023 can also submit an advance application for registration as a voter for the draft publication of electoral roll. The students can seek the help of Booth Level Officers (BLO) and get to know about their booth location,” Dr. Rajendra said.

The DC further said that today, the voter registration is being done only through online and there is no physical application submission.

Giving some tips to the students on setting goals, the DC said that the students of today are facing several distractions in their studies, which they should overcome by all means for their own future.

Today, as a special occasion, the students were allowed to bring their cell phones to their College for voter enrolment.

SVEEP Literacy Club Co-ordinator Mangalamurthy, DDPUE Nagamallesh, Additional DC Dr. B.S. Manjunathaswamy, College Principal Somanna and others were present.

The DC later went to Maharani’s College of Commerce and Management for Women located on Valmiki Road in Paduvarahalli, where also he launched the drive.