60% of voters linked Aadhaar to voter ID: RTI

Source:  The post is based on the article “60% of voters linked Aadhaar to voter ID: RTI” published in The Hindu on 24th February 2023

What is the News?

The Election Commission of India has said that over 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters in India have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs.

The Election Commission of India has said that over 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters in India have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs.

In December 2021, the Central Government passed The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation Act, 1951 to implement certain electoral reforms.

The amendment stated that an electoral registration officer may require a person to furnish their Aadhaar number.

The amendments also stated that no individual will be denied inclusion in the electoral roll, nor have their names deleted from the roll if they are unable to furnish their Aadhaar number due to “sufficient cause as may be prescribed”. Such individuals may be allowed to provide alternative documents prescribed by the government.

Why does the government want to link electoral rolls to Aadhaar?

The government claims the linkage will solve the problem of multiple enrollments of the same person at different places. 

Once the Aadhaar linkage is achieved, the electoral roll data system will instantly alert the existence of previous registration(s) whenever a person applies for new registration. 

This will help in cleaning the electoral roll to a great extent and facilitate elector registration in the location at which they are ‘ordinarily resident’.

What are the arguments against the Aadhar-Electoral roll linkage?

Firstly, the amendment allows people to furnish alternative documents other than Aadhar on the basis of sufficient cause.

– But the option of showing another identity proof is only available to the voter if they don’t have an Aadhaar number. Hence, the option of being unwilling to furnish an Aadhar number if alternatives are available is not permitted.

– This is against the Supreme Court judgment in Justice K. S Puttaswamy v Union of India & Ors which dealt with the validity of the Aadhar card. According to the judgment, Aadhar cards can only be made mandatory if some benefit or subsidy is sought and not if there is an intrinsic right, such as the right to vote.

Secondly, the linkage poses a major threat to the independence of the Election Commission (EC) as the preparation of the electoral rolls is made dependent on the processes of Aadhaar, a process it has no control over.