Taste a tukda of democracy: Evolution of voter turnout trends in India

In the five poll-going states of the federal union of India – Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur – there are 18.3 crore citizens listed as electors. More than 60 lakh of them are new voters. In the 75th year of Independence, could we witness a 75% voter turnout in these state elections? Remember, last year’s state elections in Assam recorded an 82.39% turnout, West Bengal 77.68%, and the Union territory of Puducherry an impressive 81.66%. Is the voting experience getting better, becoming easier and less cumbersome?

Indians responded to the gift of adult franchise with 45.7% turnout in the first general election held between October 1951 and February 1952 amid nominal literacy, abundant poverty and post-Partition problems. Over the decades that followed, turnout generally stuck to 60% or below. Curiously, rising economic and educational standards did not help much then.

Has political engagement not been credible enough? Or has electoral engagement been the real issue? Following proactive interventions by the Election Commission (EC) over a decade ago, there was a dramatic swing in Lok Sabha voter turnout to 66.44% in 2014 that further improved to 67.4% in 2019. Turnouts in assembly elections have followed this trend. India, having not opted for compulsory voting, is still consistently in the lower half in world voter turnout ranking, though it has been slowly climbing of late. In the US, with a turnout of 62% of the voting-eligible population in the 2020 presidential election – certainly up from 54.8% in 2016 – Joe Biden is desperately pushing to open up voting rights and methods.

Making It a Clean SVEEP

Manipur and Goa, like several other smaller states, as well as Punjab, have always produced better election turnouts, consistently registering 70-80% or even more in recent general elections. Their ‘performance’ has been further boosted after the EC’s SVEEP (Systemic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) interventions from 2010. The younger state of Uttarakhand, having gone through only four assembly elections till date, soon moved into the 65% bracket despite difficult topographical and climatic conditions. Women in these four states have mostly matched men in turning up at polling stations. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they even surpassed men at the hustings after some focused interventions and political mobilisation.

UP, with its mammoth 15 crore electorate, has made a significant stride to the 60% turnout range in the last two assembly elections compared to 45-55% in earlier ones. Importantly, irrespective of socioeconomic handicaps, women have decisively moved past men in voting, both in the 2012 and 2017 UP assembly elections, forcing issues pertaining specifically to them to the centre of the poll narrative.

The Nota (None of the Above) innovation in the electronic voting machine (EVM) has, since its introduction in the 2013 Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, provided the voter an option to come and reject on record all available candidates. The recent relaxation of Covid restrictions on physical meetings and door-to-door campaigns should help in connecting further with voters.

For eligible voters to participate, voting needs to be not just an abstract ‘celebration of democracy’ but it has to also be actually safe and pleasant. Access and convenience aspects are buttressed by a set of assured minimum facilities (AMFs) like waiting sheds, drinking water, toilets and adequate lighting at polling stations. Information slips, voter guides and assistance booths are devices to make the voting process easier. Persons with disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens tend to face genuine barriers and disincentives. About 13 lakh people with disabilities in the five poll-going states, along with the elderly, will be specially supported by priority voting, sturdy ramps, wheelchairs, free transport along with all polling stations being situated on ground floors.

Postal ballots are being harnessed better, with 4.5 times higher yield than before in the 2021 assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. This year, journalists joined voters above 80, PwDs, Covid-affected persons and those employed in essential services in the list of ‘absentee voters’ who can opt for the postal ballot. Remote voting for migrant workers and students may become a reality in the foreseeable future.

Keeping It Sanitised

2.15 lakh polling booths are in absolute custody of the election machinery, where compliance of Covid protocols can be expected to be foolproof. EC’s elaborate catalogue of Covid-mitigation steps has worked seamlessly since the Bihar assembly elections in 2020. This has been further refurbished recently.

January 25 is observed as National Voters’ Day since 2011 to commemorate EC’s foundation day in 1950. The proof of the pudding, of course, will be in the actual voting.