Mumbai, February 3: The Election Commission of India has decided to extend the privilege of the postal ballot for absentee voters aged above 80 years or more and also for people with disabilities. According to a Times of India report, the Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra has issued a letter asking the district election office to provide 'postal ballot' to voters.

The ECI has decided to provide this facility to those voters who face difficulty in travelling to the election booth. To include the participation of the voters, EC has decided to include them in the list of 'absentee voters'. At present, voting through the postal ballot is available to armed forces and those assigned poll duties. How to Vote #India? Know All About The Special Arrangements For Divyangjan to Poll in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

The district election officer will prepare a list of citizens who will fall in the criteria, and at the time of elections, postal ballots will be sent to them. According to a PTI report, in the last Lok Sabha elections, about 60.14 per cent of absentee voters voted through e-postal ballot while in 2014, during the general election, this figure was just 4 per cent.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2020 08:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).