ABSENTEE VOTING

“The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders
later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.”
-Charles Bukowski
Absentee voting or absentee ballot refers to the method by which a qualified voter who is temporarily absent from his/her
place of domicile will be permitted to cast his/her vote in the general elections. Absentee voting helps to prevent fraud in
elections. It also preserves ballot secrecy. 1 Domestic migrants are those who are from one particular state but are working
in some other state and hence miss out on voting.2 Proxy voting essentially allows an absentee voter to nominate someone
else in his constituency to cast his vote.3
USA:  As of January 30, 2018, in 27 states and the District of Columbia, any citizen
could cast an absentee ballot.
 In 20 states, a voter had to give a valid excuse in order to vote absentee.
Commonly accepted excuses for casting an absentee ballot include sickness or
physical disability, religious observance, and prolonged absence from the voter's
home county.4
UK: Voting by post
In situations for example if:
 One is away from home
 He’s abroad and want to vote in England, Scotland or Wales.
They do not need to give a reason unless they’re voting in Northern Ireland.
Apply for a postal vote
One can apply to vote by post:
 for a single election on a specific date
 permanently
 for a specific period if he/she wants to vote in England, Scotland and Wales.
Completing and returning one’s postal vote.
When voting by post, one should:
 mark his vote on your ballot paper in secret
 fill in the postal voting statement
 put the ballot and statement in the envelope provided
 seal the envelope yourself
Change where one’s postal vote is sent:
A new application has to be made for a postal vote if one moves house or he’ll be away
from home when the postal vote is sent out.5
CANADA:  If you live abroad, you may apply to be added to the International Register of
Electors and vote by special mail-in ballot in future federal elections at any time.
 If you usually live in Canada but are away to travel or study, you may apply to
vote by special ballot once an election has been called – not before.
 If an election has been called and you would like to vote by special mail-in ballot,
you must apply as soon as possible. You are responsible for allowing enough
time for Elections Canada to send you a special ballot voting kit and for you to
return your marked ballot by the Election Day deadline.6
GERMANY: In all German elections, postal votes are available on demand. The requirement for an
excuse has been removed in 2008 for elections on the federal level.7
AUSTRALIA:
Instead of marking the ballot paper and putting it in the ballot box, the voter's ballot paper
is placed in an envelope and then it is sent by the voting official to the voter's home district
1
https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/absentee-voting/
2
https://www.news18.com/news/india/election-commission-calls-all-party-meet-voting-by-domestic-migrants-on-agenda-one-nation-one-poll-finds-no-
mention-1857523.html
3
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-objects-to-proxy-voting-for-domestic-migrants/articleshow/65601394.cms
4
https://www.usa.gov/absentee-voting
5
https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad
6
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/elections-faq
7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absentee_ballot
 to be counted there. Postal voting and early voting are separate procedures also available
to voters who would not be in their registered electoral districts on a voting day. 8

SWITZERLAND:
Swiss federal law allows postal voting in all federal elections and referenda, and all
cantons also allow it for cantonal ballot issues. All voters receive their personal ballot by
mail and may either cast it at a polling station or mail it back.9

NETHERLANDS:
In the Netherlands, liberalised proxy voting is available. Voters can authorise someone
else to cast their ballot without having to go through a registration procedure. Voters can
cast a maximum of 2 proxy votes along with their own ballot. Postal ballots and Internet
voting are only available to Dutch citizens living abroad, or having occupational duties
abroad on election day.10

ESTONIA: It introduced what it calls ‘i-Voting’, or internet voting in 2005. Voters cast their ballots
from any internet-connected computer anywhere in the world. During a designated pre-
voting period, the voter logs onto the system using an ID-casts a ballot. The voter’s
identity is removed from the ballot before it reaches the electoral officials for counting to
ensure anonymity. To counter the possibility of votes being forced or bought, Estonia
allows voters to log in and vote as many times as they want during the pre-voting period
with each new vote cancelling the last.
NEW ZEALAND:11 If one can’t get to a voting place during the voting period, s/he can still vote. For instance,
if they’re in a rest home or hospital, the election commission sends teams to deliver voting
services. Blind or people with certain disabilities can also use a telephone dictation service
to vote. There is also the ‘takeaway vote’, for which voters need to apply for voting
papers to be sent by post. The completed voting papers must be returned before a deadline
on polling day.
INDIA:
1. As of now, India does not have an absentee ballot system for all citizens. In a restricted sense, The Representation
of the People Act-1950 (RPA) section 20(8) allows people such as people on polling duty and serving in armed
forces, and Head of state like President to vote in absentia through postal means. Section 20 of the RPA-1950
disqualifies a non-resident Indian (NRI) from getting his/her name registered in the electoral rolls. 12 
2. The Non-Resident Indians being Indian citizens were being treated unequally with Indian citizens residing in
India. This violated their right to vote and other basic rights under articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the constitution.
3. The Supreme Court, in January 2015 had asked the government to allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), or Indian
citizens living abroad, to vote remotely. This would have meant that Indians living in foreign countries would be
allowed to vote from their country of residence.
4. Until then, Indian citizens living abroad had to travel back home in order to exercise their franchise, something not
many people do. India had given voting rights to NRIs in 2010. Under the new system -- e-voting - a blank postal
ballot paper was to be emailed to the voter, who had to then fill it and send it to their constituency via post. India
already allows on-duty defense personnel and certain categories of government officers and exiled Kashmiri
Hindus to cast their vote remotely.13 The Supreme Court had directed the central government to enable e-voting by
NRIs within eight weeks.14
5. During the 2018 monsoon session, the Lok Sabha gave its nod to an amendment to the Representation of People’s
Act, which proposes to give ‘proxy voting’ rights to NRIs.15
6. However,
 Proxy voting can be easily misused, thereby possibly leading to miscarriage of justice. Therefore, it reflects in
arbitrariness of this law.
8
ibid
9
ibid
10
ibid
11
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/estonians-can-vote-from-anywhere-in-the-world/articleshow/67403244.cms
12
ibid
13
Supra, 3
14
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nris-must-be-allowed-to-e-vote-within-8-weeks-orders-supreme-court-726310
15
Supra, 3
  Proxy voting violates the principle of secret ballot and secrecy of voting.
 NRI voters must not be placed on any special footing vis-a-vis Indian voters.16
7.This is therefore not a reasonable basis for differentiation. 17 Since no reasonable distinction can be pointed out, it
stands ultra vires Article 14.18
8. It should also be stated that the present government while allowing proxy voting for NRIs is not in favour of the same
for domestic migrants. They had justified their position by saying that While “genuine domestic migrant voters should
be identified” through a proper process, “no proxy or absentee mode be adopted and therefore in the garb of migrant
voters no bogus voting should be permitted” 19. How can we give special privilege of distance voting to some
people who have migrated abroad, when there are many times more domestic migrants who also seek to
have a voting right at their homes? It is patently discriminatory. 20
PROS CONS
 Non-precinct-place and early voting  Absentee voting through proxy voting
(NPPEV) may be used to increase voter turn-out. It violates the principle of ‘secret ballot’.
encompasses a variety of practices these include traditional  With approximately 11 million23
absentee voting, no-excuse absentee, permanent absentee, in- NRIs, it can be abused by certain political parties to tilt
person early voting, and voting by mail. There is additional the outcome of elections in their favour who cater more
variation in where people vote: in-person early voting may to the NRI audience. There are about 10 million NRIs
take place either at central election offices or at voting in the countries that Prime Minister Modi has
centres in locations such as shopping malls.21 visited since November 2014. With winning
 With approximately 500 million active margins going down with every election, this
internet users in India today22, electronic means of absentee number is significant for the BJP.  24
voting such voting by mail through a secured circuit may  There is no guarantee that the
help in realisation of democracy in true sense. Absentee proxy will vote for the candidate preferred by the
voting methods like ‘I-voting’ or ‘Takeaway ballots’ are the overseas voter, thereby vitiating the object of free
way forward to look at. and fair elections. 25
 Absentee voting can be used as to ensure  It is still not clear who can qualify
right to vote to every citizen among other fundamental rights as a proxy. A relative, a friend, who? How does the
enshrined under articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Election Commission plan to ensure that the proxy
constitution. votes as per the wish of an overseas voter? 26
 Bribery and inducements of voters
are strictly kept in check in elections. These are
impossible to implement abroad. There can be no
guarantee of NRI voters exercising their vote in a
free and fair manner, as there can be no check on
coercion or inducements by employers and
supervisors. A majority of foreign migrants are
poor workers often at the mercy of their employers
who even take their passports into custody. 27
 The regular elections in India will
further add to their workload. 28 The smaller

16
Supra, 3
17
Kedar Nath Bajoria v. State of W.B. AIR 1953 SC 404
18
K. Kunhikoman v. State of Kerala AIR 1962 SC 723
19
Supra, 3
20
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/proxy-voting-for-nris-tricky-issue-which-needs-deeper-analysis/
21
‘The Effects and Costs of Early Voting, Election Day Registration, and Same Day Registration in the 2008 Elections’, Barry C. Burden, David T.
Canon, Kenneth R. Mayer and Donald P. Moynihan, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page 4
22
A report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/internet-users-in-india-expected-to-reach-
500-million-by-june-iamai/articleshow/63000198.cms
23
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nris-must-be-allowed-to-e-vote-within-8-weeks-orders-supreme-court-726310
24
Supra, 20
25
Supra, 20
26
Supra, 20
27
Supra, 20
28
Supra, 20
 regional parties will be at a disadvantage, as they
have no support base or financial clout to lure the
diaspora crowd. 29

29
Supra, 20