This story is from March 22, 2019

NRI voters registration for Lok Sabha elections remains low

Despite lakhs of citizens residing aboard from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, registration of NRIs as voters from the two states for the Lok Sabha elections remains to be relatively low.
NRI voters registration for Lok Sabha elections remains low
HYDERABAD: Despite lakhs of citizens residing aboard from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, registration of NRIs as voters from the two states for the Lok Sabha elections remains to be relatively low.
According to figures released by the Election Commission (EC), there are only 1,127 registered NRI voters in Telangana and 2,511 in AP. In comparison with the rest of the country, registration in Telangana and AP is much better as the two states have more than 1,000 NRIs registered as voters.
Telangana: Track here Lok Sabha elections' full coverage
Andhra Pradesh: Track here Lok Sabha elections' full coverage
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Officials claim that the number of voters have considerably increased since the assembly elections.
"During the assembly elections, we had less than 200 NRIs registered with us. However, the numbers have now crossed the 1,000 mark. While in relative terms the numbers have increased, it still remains to be significantly low considering the expat we have from the two states," said Rajat Kumar, chief electoral officer, adding that majority registrations are from the United States.

As per the EC electoral rolls for the entire country, of the more than 1.31 crore NRIs eligible for voting, less than one per cent have registered as voters. Of the total 71,735 NRI voters registered across the country as of 2019, 92 per cent are from Kerala alone i.e. 66,584.
Experts attribute low registration of citizens living abroad to range of issues including lack of awareness, cumbersome process and voting methods. "The real issue could be the voting methods available for such registered voters. As on date, the only way NRIs can actually vote is to be physically present during elections... If NRIs would like to vote in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they have to be physically present at the place of registration on the day of the poll," stated an analysis by Rakesh Dubbudu on Factly, a data and fact checking organisation.
Following low enrolment, political parties such as the TRS and the TPCC constituted special wings to enhance NRI voter registration in the two states.
Amendment of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to enable overseas electors to appoint proxies to cast their votes in LS and assembly elections has been pending in the Parliament. While the amendment bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in August last year, it is yet to secure nod from the Rajya Sabha and the President of India.
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