The Election Commission has named a few countries where it would like to have postal voting introduced for NRIs on a pilot basis.
The proposal may get implemented first for voters based in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Germany, France, and South Africa.
Out of 1.18 lakh NRI voters, the largest number (about 89,0000) are registered to vote in Kerala.
The second-largest cohort (roughly 7,500) are registered in Andhra Pradesh.
India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world at 16 million people.
Voting rights for NRIs were introduced only in 2011, through an amendment to the Representation of the People Act 1950.
An NRI can vote in the constituency in which their place of residence, as mentioned in the passport, is located.
They can only vote in person and will have to produce their passport in original at the polling station for establishing identity.