Context: National Voters' Day is celebrated all across the country on January 25 every year since 2011, to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, i.e. 25th January 1950. The main purpose of the National Voters Day celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize enrolment, especially for new voters. Election Commission of India is a Constitutional Body created under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. The first Chief Election Commissioner was appointed on 21st March 1950. Since its creation, the Commission was a single member body except for a brief period from 16th October 1989 to 1st January 1990 when it was converted into a three member body. Subsequently, since 1st October 1993, the Commission has been a three-member body, consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
President Ram Nath Kovind, virtually graced and addressed the 11th National Voters’ Day Celebrations, organised by the Election Commission of India, on Monday. During the event, the President conferred the National Awards for the year 2020-21 and also launched the Election Commission of India’s Web Radio: ‘Hello Voters’ – an online digital radio service. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that on National Voters’ Day, he would like to remind everyone that we should always respect the valuable right to vote. The right to vote is not a simple right; people around the world have struggled a lot for this. Since independence, our Constitution has given equal voting rights to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of merit, religion, race and caste. For this, we are indebted to the makers of our Constitution. 

Background

• The National Voters' Day is celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, all across the country to mark the foundation day of ECI, i.e. 25th January 1950. 
• The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize enrolment, especially for the new voters.

Key Points

• The theme for this year's NCD is 'Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed.
• It also focuses on the ECI's commitment towards conducting elections safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Importance of the Day

• Dedicated to the voters of the country, the day is utilized to spread awareness among voters and for promoting informed participation in the electoral process. 
• New voters are felicitated and handed over their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) in the NVD functions.
• During the event, the Honourable President of India will confer the National Awards for the year 2020-21 and launch ECI's Web Radio:'Hello Voters'.

Voting Stats in India

• The 2019 Lok Sabha elections clocked a record turnout of 67.11%, beating the previous turnout of 65.95% notched up in 2014, according to tentative data released by the Election Commission (EC).

Importance of Voting

• Abraham Lincoln’s idea and philosophy of Democracy i.e. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people, can be translated to reality only through voting.
• Sense of Empowerment: Through voting, people have a sense of ‘ownership of government’.
• To make government more responsible and accountable: Indian voters have brought revolutionary changes, in that regard, through voting e.g. in 1967, when Congress Government was not working as per the aspirations of the people, people brought the Congress Government to very thin majority at the center and almost half of the State Governments were given to non-congress parties.
• By voting, people can decide the direction of change and development.
• To express oneself i.e. Voting helps people in expressing their thoughts on a country, local constituency or about a candidate through the ballot box.

Recent Reforms

Scientific Approach: Voting is not a homogeneous entity. All the people who vote or not vote, don’t have a same reason. ECI has developed a scientific base to research on voting behaviour of people.

• E.g. in Jharkhand, two elections back, when certain people didn’t vote, a survey was conducted to find the reason.
• Addition of ‘NOTA’ option has further enabled the people to realise importance of their vote in elections. By choosing NOTA, voters have right to not to choose any nominated candidate.
• National Voters’ Day: To ensure that new voter or the 18+ who gets registered, finds a way to understand that ‘voting is an important responsibility, and at certain point of time, s/he has to go to vote.
• ECI is continuously taking care to ensure the access to polling station to Divyangs, people in far-off places and for distant remote placed voters.
• Model Polling Booths have been developed to facilitate women, children and old people.

Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP): To fill the gaps in the areas where people do not participate, fail to participate or don’t come and join enthusiastically. The program is basically, to educate voters and to ensure their effective participation in elections.

Ensuring flexibility in Indian Election System: Whenever people or political parties have a complaint regarding anything, ECI always have a solution for that. Recently, when transparency in EVMs was in question, ECI introduced VVPAT machines.

• For decriminalization of Indian Elections, ECI and the Court has ensured together that the candidates declare their criminal record and any cases, pending or not.

Road Ahead

• Some challenges like financing of elections, unfair use of social media in elections and proxy voting for NRIs are yet to be addressed.
• Something should be done to facilitate inter-migrants to vote in the place, where they are living.
• Political class and ECI need to come together to find the ways and means to decriminalize the elections. Entry of the criminals into politics should be taken in more serious manner.
• Examining the relevance of alternative kind of methods like Proportional Representation System in Indian Elections.
• Electoral Reforms should be introduced to handle coalitions.
• Indian Democracy will get strengthened, when all political parties, stakeholders including media take their responsibility seriously and help each other in strengthening democratic institutions like Electoral System.