Booth-level officers (BLOs) will have to go “door to door” to distribute voter information slips to enrolled electors, and this process must be completed “till 5 clear days before the day of poll”, the Election Commission has said.
A voter information slip is a small piece of paper containing key details, including the voter’s name, the polling booth, the address, the polling date and the elector’s serial number on the voter list.
“This slip helps polling officers locate the elector’s details in the roll quickly, and the verification is quicker,” a senior commission official said.
The EC directive titled “Role and responsibilities of Booth Level Officers during ongoing general elections” has been sent to all district election officers and is divided into three broad subheads: the “distribution of voter information slips”, “arrangement at polling stations”, and “voter assistance booths”.
The directive states that the BLOs shall give the slips either to the registered voter or to “an adult member of the voter’s family, who is himself/herself a voter” and goes on to clarify that BLOs shall maintain “absolute neutrality” during distribution.
Agents of candidates may join a BLO for distribution, and the BLO will take their signatures in the distribution register, the commission has said.
Sources in the poll panel said the directive was intended to curb the earlier practice of political party representatives visiting voters and allegedly trying to “influence or intimidate” them.
“Bulk distribution of voter information slips is not allowed and shall be viewed as a violation of the instructions,” the EC directive says.
The directives add that a “voter assistance booth” shall be set up on polling day to assist voters. A team of BLOs and other officials will set up the booth. “Prominent signage indicating ‘Voter Assistance Booth’ is to be displayed... for the guidance of voters.”
The directive also mentions that in areas where there is a large number of women voters, “especially purdahnasheen women”, BLOs will sit at voter assistance booths or at the entrance of the polling station and identify the electors coming to the polling station.
“Male BLO may be accompanied by a female staff and vice versa to identify electors, including purdahnasheen women and mark the same in the electoral roll,” the directives state.
BLOs and other officials will help the polling parties in setting up polling stations and “take care of the webcasting arrangements and positioning of web cameras”.