- At the polling booth, if you believe none of the prospects fielded by the political parties deserve your vote, you have a choice: None of the above.
- The provision is available for first time during the current Assembly elections to 5 states.
- It will be included in electronic voting devices for Lok Sabha polls as well.
- Procedure for unhappy voters with any of the prospects and who didn’t want to vote for any of them:
- Filling up forms
- Sign on them
- Apart from handling uncomfortable questions from polling officials.
- A Supreme Court judgment in September 2013, directed the Election Commission to make provision in the ballot papers or EVMs for “none of the above (NOTA)” option.
- This will ensure voters use their right in privacy.
- All CEOs to make the NOTA provision after the names of all the prospects. If it was not feasible for some reason, like the high number of applicants, a separate ballot paper or EVM ought to be made available along side.
Exams Perspective:
- Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs)
- None of the above
- Right in Privacy