Ease of Voting: India's next democratic reform agenda for migrants, NRIs, and PwDs

India has framed national reform agendas around 'ease of living' and 'ease of doing business', recognising that administrative convenience is not a luxury but a democratic obligation. It's time to extend the same reformist lens to voting. 'Ease of voting' must now define the next phase of India's democratic reform agenda.

Migrants

Census 2011 recorded 45.36 cr internal migrants, about 37% of India's population. Only about 12% of these migrants move across state borders. Most migration occurs within districts or states. For construction workers employed far from home, nurses posted in other states, seasonal labourers, students and professionals on deputation, current residency requirements bar participation. Their exclusion is not the result of apathy but of institutional design.

NRIs

India's overseas community is about 18 mn. Yet, only 2,958 overseas electors of the 1.2 lakh registered voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, a turnout of 2.47%. Many are unable to vote because returning to India on polling day is not possible. This exclusion is incongruous given that they contribute to the economy through remittances.

Special needs

There are 26.8 mn PwDs (2011 census), or 2.21% of the population. Over one-fifth are senior citizens, many with mobility, visual or hearing impairments. Yet, only 62.64 lakh disabled voters were registered for the 2019 election.

India's elderly population is projected to rise from 100 mn in 2011 to 230 mn by 2036. As voter rolls expand - 97.97 cr electors in 2024, up 7.43% from 2019 - the absolute number of missing voters remains enormous. The legal framework allows postal ballots only for a narrow and exceptional category of electors.

Under Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, read with Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, voting by post is confined to service voters, including members of the armed forces, CAPF and government officials deployed on election duty. Limited extensions have been introduced for senior citizens and persons with benchmark disabilities. But for the vast majority of absent voters, no meaningful alternative exists.

International experience demonstrates that expanding voting options can enhance participation without compromising electoral integrity.

In Britain's 2024 general election, 19.9% of registered voters were issued postal ballots, and 26.2% of all valid votes were returned by post. Postal turnout stood at 78.9%, compared with 55% at polling stations. Remote voting, when regulated, can increase participation.

Estonia has permitted internet voting since 2005, supported by a secure digital identity system. In its 2023 parliamentary elections, 51% of all votes were cast online. Regular audits and cryptographic safeguards have maintained public trust. At the same time, Estonia's experience underscores that digital voting is not a panacea. Trust, institutional credibility, a unified national identity framework and digital literacy are essential prerequisites.

Several democracies, including the US, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador and Argentina, have adopted forms of remote, postal or electronic voting for specific categories of voters, particularly citizens residing abroad. These systems demonstrate that carefully designed absentee voting mechanisms, backed by verification, audits and legal safeguards, can expand participation while preserving electoral integrity.

India entrusts tech with some of its most sensitive civic and economic functions. Every day, crores of citizens conduct secure digital transactions involving thousands of crores of rupees, authenticated through layered safeguards, encryption protocols and regulatory oversight.

If the state can design systems capable of protecting financial integrity at such scale, surely, it can explore similar institutional confidence being extended, cautiously and transparently, to voting.

Secure absentee or electronic voting deserves consideration. Remote and staggered voting also offer administrative and environmental gains: compressing elections into a single day strains logistics and drives travel, congestion and fuel use. A multi-day voting window would ease access for working voters, migrants and senior citizens, while allowing election authorities to manage security and logistics more efficiently.

Equally vital is keeping physical polling stations accessible. EC's 'Accessible Elections' initiative provided ramps, wheelchairs, Braille signage and priority queues to 62.64 lakh persons with disabilities in 2019. With India's elderly population projected to touch 230 mn by 2036, investment in dignified, accessible polling infrastructure is indispensable. Remote voting must supplement - not substitute - traditional polling.

The constitutional promise of universal adult franchise demands the removal of structural barriers to participation. This is not about electoral advantage but democratic legitimacy. As India enters a new phase of democratic maturity, expanding participation must be treated as a moral imperative. Ease of voting should be a national priority - rooted in inclusivity, integrity and trust - so every citizen, wherever they live or work, can help shape the nation's future.

The writer is a Lok Sabha MP