Lok Sabha Elections 2024: A Guide On How To Vote For First Time-Voters

India has over 1.8 crore first-time voters in the 18-19 age group who are eligible to vote in the April 19-June 1 Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission (EC) announced today.

Voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, the EC said.

The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Lok Sabha Polls 2024: FAQs For First-Time Voters

• All Indian citizens who are 18 as on January 1 of the year for which the electoral roll is prepared are entitled to be registered as voters in their constituency.
• First-time voters need to register on the official website of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in order to cast their votes. To register, they must complete Form 6 online at the National Voters' Service Portal. They can also enroll offline by filing the application before the Electoral Registration Officers or Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
• Voters must then check whether their name has been included in the electoral roll of the constituency where they live.
• They can check this from the Electoral Registration Officer of their area or on the ECI website.
• They then need to check the polling booth that they have been allocated.
• On polling day, voters need to go to their polling booths and show their identity documents to the First Polling Officer. Next, they need to go to the Second Polling Officer who will mark their left forefinger with the indelible ink.
• Voters then need to sign or give their thumb impression in the Register of Voters.
• On the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), citizens need to press the blue candidate button on the Balloting Unit against the name and symbol of the candidate of their choice. The red lamp will glow against the name and symbol of that candidate.
• A beep sound will be heard after the vote is recorded and the voter will get a slip confirming that the vote has been cast.
• If a voter has any grievance on the electoral roll or any other election related matter, they may approach the presiding officer at the polling station.