voters without borders

People for Lok Satta and VWB joint petition submitted.

Nov 22^nd 2010
meeting with

Mr. Datta Padsalgikar
Personal and Community Affairs Officer
Indian Embassy, Washington DC.

Attendees: Shivakumar, Madhu , Krishna and Shobila

Background: On Nov 4^th, Shivakumar had faxed Indian embassy in Washington DC seeking an appointment with the concerned officials to submit PFL’s (People for Lok Satta) petition demanding absentee voting rights for NRI’s. Mr. Datta Padsalgikar positively responded back and assured us that we can meet him at our convenience. Finally an appointment was fixed on Monday, Nov 22^nd 11AM at the Indian embassy. On Monday, Nov 22^nd four members of PFL , voters without borders (VWB) and 5^th pillar made it to the meeting.

Meeting: We reached early on Monday to the embassy. After few minutes of wait, Mr. Datta warmly welcomed us to the room. He had gone through the faxed letter, rationale for absentee voting and petition contents in detail. So there was no need for us to explain to him our petition. We submitted hard copy of petition and signatures. We requested him to pass it on to Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Election commission of India. He said he would be really happy to do that.

Mr. Datta came in full support of the voting modality PFL had suggested (combination of Internet and Postal). He said it is practical and implementable. Moreover such an approach not only benefits NRI’s but also people who currently have postal ballot rights such as officials posted outside India like him and armed forces personnel. Personally he was able to vote only twice in his 28 years of career! He said politicians have taken note of the impracticalities of involved in non-residents voting in person at the booth. Pressure from outside such as our petition would push the cabinet ministers to work on it to move it in the parliament. He suggested that at least one of us register and attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas event to be held in New Delhi from Jan 7-9^th. It is one of the best place raise the concerns of NRI’s to the ministers. Rest, he assured that he will do the best he can to ensure that our concerns will reach the concerned ministers. After this we had discussions about how NRI’s can contribute to education in India. We bid adieu to Mr. Datta after half an hour of discussion.

Partner with People for Lok Satta

Recently Voterswithoutborders teamed up with People for Lok Satta campaign for NRI voting rights.
They have an amazing team of volunteers to coordinates actuvities for the campaign. PFL contacted MPs from every state and got their views on this issue. PFL team has global presence in may countries such as UK, Australia and Germany. Follow their campaign updates here.

We worked together on submitting renewed petition to Indian embassy in Nov 2010.

Govt passes NRI voting rights-… in Person!

Both Lok Sabaha and Rajya Sabha passed Representation of People (Amendment)-2010  bill, granting NRI’s voting rights on Aug 2010.  Subsequent Gazette notification was issued on Nov 24th.

But the problem NRI’s are required to be physically present at the time of voting.! Such clause will kill the very spirit of the Act. Our fight for absentee voting will continue.

The Hindu Editorial: Voting without borders

Today’s The Hindu Editorial has the same title as ours and carry similar content.

Read on:

http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/11/stories/2010011155190800.htm

Prepare technology before thinking of NRI voting rights: BJP

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar rightly said:

“For giving voting rights to NRIs, government will have to prepare the technology roadmap….start preparations right today.. .  NRIs cannot come be expected to come to India to cast their vote, some technological arrangement will have to be made“.

Read More at:

http://www.zeenews.com/news594054.html

One more step closer! NRI can vote soon: Manmohan Singh

Here is what PM Manmohan Singh said on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2010:

“I recognise the legitimate desire of Indians living abroad to exercise their franchise and to have a say in who governs India,” the Prime Minister told the annual conclave for the Indian diaspora.

“We are working on this issue and I sincerely hope that they will get a chance to vote by the time of the next regular general elections,” he said at the eighth edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

More info:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NRI-can-vote-soon-Manmohan-Singh/articleshow/5423211.cms

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/08/nris-may-soon-get-to-cast-their-vote-pm.htm

Petition submitted to Indian Embassy

We are happy to inform all those who supported our efforts that we have kept our promise!

On Thursday 17th Dec, we (Shivakumar,  Ritambhara  and Mahesh Shastry)  submitted our petition and signatures to Mr. Sanjay Sinha, Minister for personal and community affairs at  Indian Embassy, Washington DC.  Mr. Sinha gave us a warm welcome, patiently listened to our demands for absentee voting and extended all help possible in this regard. He will submit the petition and signatures to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Parliamentary affairs, Government of India.  He suggested us that we also bring up NRI voting  issue whenever we happen to meet any Parliamentary Minsiters.

With this recognition of Voters Without Borders, surely a pressure will be built on the Government of India to extend voting rights to Non Resident Indians and temporary migrants within India.

Jai Hind!

VWB covered by 'The Hindu'

Last we were interviewed by a journalist of ‘The Hindu’.  Voters without borders appreared in an article on NRI voting in the Election page of ‘The Hindu’

Please read 

http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/01/stories/2009050150021400.htm

Out of sight, out of mind
Amritha Alladi

Allowing non-resident Indians to vote in absentia is too cumbersome – Vayalar Ravi

When Suresh Subramaniam visited the Indian embassy in Muscat to find out how he could vote, he was shocked to find that there was no system to include them in the process of electing their leaders. Living beyond the borders of their country, Indian citizens find that once they are out of sight, they are not given a thought by their government. “There is no procedure available,” says Mr. Subramaniam.

He joins millions of others globally who are ‘disenfranchised’ by India. Non-Resident Indians, unlike the Overseas Citizens of India, retain Indian citizenship as they study or work abroad. However, once they have remained outside India for an extended period, they lose their “ordinary resident” status, as laid down by Section 20 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950. Their names are deleted from the electoral rolls. Even for citizens on the rolls but abroad during the elections, the Act only permits the use of absentee postal ballots by some categories of people, such as members of the armed forces and bureaucrats stationed overseas.

It’s not that NRIs are prohibited from voting per se, says Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs. It’s just that the RPA does not allow them to use postal ballots. Plus, allowing them to vote in absentia would prove too cumbersome. “What electoral control can there be?” Mr. Ravi asks. “It’s not possible.” While the NRIs argue that this disenfranchises an estimated 20 million people, Mr. Ravi says the task of collecting ballots of such a magnitude is daunting.

Even the existing absentee voting system is inadequate, according to former Army medical corps doctor Major R.S. Rengan. “The ballot doesn’t come in time and there is no online facility,” he says, “Never once could I vote.” After serving in the Armed and Peace Keeping Forces for 15 years, Dr. Rengan says only since he left service in 2001 has he been able to cast his vote.

But Mr. Gupta says the Election Commission distributes ballots as soon as the list of candidates is finalised, although he admitted that by the time the ballots go through the unit officers, there may be some delay. When the absentee voting system has not worked properly for the Armed forces at India’s borders, can the NRIs expect the logistics for overseas voting to be worked out?

Vetri T.V., a brand manager in Shanghai, suggests using an online absentee ballot. “You send an e-mail to the government and verify your information. They give you a password and it’s very secure.” Others like Uma Mahesh V. in the U.S., says having Indian embassies distribute and collect postal ballots according to the electoral roll will make the process feasible.

J.S. Dattakumar, an accountant in Sharjah, says national security is the issue of primary concern for him. “I want to see some young people who will give importance to national security,” he says. “Allowing NRIs to vote would provide a global perspective, because they have seen how issues are dealt with in other countries.” Mr. Mahesh concedes that allowing NRIs to elect local MLAs is not practical. But electing MPs would at least help them have a voice in the Lok Sabha. The option of having a “virtual NRI constituency” has also been suggested by some people.

Remittances sent by NRIs is more than $25 billion, generating about 3 per cent of India’s GDP, according to Shivakumar Jolad of Voters Without Borders, a group of Indian citizens abroad. “This figure varies widely across States, with Kerala and Punjab topping the list,” Mr. Jalod says. Mr. Srivatsava reveals that NRIs have an online petition, urging Indian officials to include them in the electoral process. Mr. Ravi says he hopes Parliament will move to amend the RPA to address the problem of the NRI voter this year.

Where should I vote? Migrants confused (TOI)

Times of India news article march 9-09

Bangalore : March 31 is just a couple of weeks away. Chandru, a Bangalorean settled in Hyderbad for three years now, is worried. “I want to vote. But where? My old ID card is invalid as my name has been removed from the list there. Further, I don’t know if I need to register again here,” he says.

Sunil, a techie from Chennai who has been living in Bangalore for almost four years now, finds himself in a similar fix. “I’m yet to get my ID card done as I moved out of my home town to study and then landed a job elsewhere. Being constantly on the move, I really found it hard to register myself on the electoral rolls,” he explains, adding, “But, I do want to vote.”

Many like them have migrated and lived elsewhere for years — without voting or even knowing they need to update themselves on the electoral roll.
The rule says that on shifting to a new city, if you plan to stay at your new place of residence for six months or longer, you are an ordinary resident of this place and can register to vote from there.

There’s no accurate figure on the migrant population in the city. But, a rather common observation is that a majority of them, particularly college students and employees in software firms, do not think much about their right to vote. For many, life in a new city very rarely extends beyond accommodation, travel and fixing utility services. Very few make it mandatory to go for voter ID revision.

However, some others do make that effort. Like Mansi Murali, 23, who got a new voter ID card three months ago. “I had no clue about the system and the rules, but thanks to my husband’s insistence, I can vote now,” says this homemaker from Mumbai who moved to Bangalore two years ago. A few voters like B Inbaraj, a techie from Trichy in Bangalore for over two years, do not hesitate going back home for elections to cast their vote.

“The issue at large remains to be tackled yet as a very small percentage (15-20%) of the migratory population casts its vote,” says Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and ABIDe convener. People seem to suffer from a general lack of awareness of their rights and apathy towards the place and the candidates there — many of them do not get too involved in it…[more]

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