LS polls: Kerala enrols over 300,000 young voters to electoral roll

The voters' list in Kerala has witnessed a big jump in the enrolment of young voters ever since the draft list was published last October, shows data.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, over 3.11 lakh youths in the age group of 18-19 years have been enrolled in the state's electoral roll during the past five months.

Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, Sanjay Kaul, said that the extensive awareness programmes and activities conducted under the auspices of the Chief Electoral Office and the campaigns conducted in the districts under the leadership of District Electoral Officers have collectively contributed to the increase in the number of young voters.

As many as 3,11,805 new voters have registered since the release of the draft Electoral Roll on October 23, 2023.

The draft list, which previously had 77,176 voters, increased to 2,88,533 in the final list published on January 22.

According to the statistics as of March 25, there are 3,88,951 young voters between the ages of 18-19.

This increase in the number of young voters in such a short period is, on average, the first in the country.

The number of transgender voters, which was 268 in the draft Electoral Roll, increased to 309 in the final list. As of today, there are 338 people on the list.

As part of the Election Commission's Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP), activities and awareness programmes were organised through social media and in colleges, universities, and other public places.

The VOTE VANDI (vehicle) was also part of the programme and was used for campaigning in various constituencies across the state.

Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, Sanjay Kaul, also said that the posts uploaded via social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook through the accounts of the Chief Electoral Officer and the District Electoral Officers as part of voter awareness programmes have been well received by the public.