Maharashtra Municipal Elections: How to Cast Four Votes on a Single EVM on January 15 — Know the New Voting Rules

Voting for 29 municipal corporations will be held on January 15. Voters will have to cast their votes three to four times in a single visit. Here is the exact procedure to follow.

After entering the polling station, the election officer will verify your identity (voter ID card or other valid proof) and mark your attendance. Ink will be applied to your finger. You will then be directed to the EVM to cast your vote.

Voting through the EVM:
In this election, voting has to be done for four separate seats. Each seat will have a different-colored ballot. Every voter must cast one vote each for seats marked ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ in the ward. In wards with four candidates, votes must be cast for all four; where there are three or two candidates, votes must be cast for three or two members, respectively.

You must vote for one candidate in each of the ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ categories. When you press the button next to a candidate in category ‘A’, a red light will glow. After that, press the button for category ‘B’, then ‘C’, and then ‘D’, with the red light glowing each time. After voting once for each of the four seats, the process will be completed, and a ‘beep’ sound will be heard. The beep indicates that voting is complete.

Each voter must cast one separate vote for each of the ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ seats. You cannot cast all four votes for just one seat. The rule is strictly “one seat, one vote.” If you do not wish to vote for any candidate, the ‘NOTA’ (None of the Above) option will be available at the end of the candidate list.

After pressing the first three buttons, the red light will glow, but there will be no beep. The beep will be heard only after pressing the button for the fourth (final) seat. Do not consider your vote complete until you hear the beep. Once the beep sounds, your voting process is complete and you may exit the polling booth.

Valid and invalid voting:
Under the new system, one ward elects four corporators. Therefore, each voter must vote for four candidates, meaning the EVM button must be pressed four times. Casting all four votes is mandatory. If even one of the four votes is not cast, your entire vote may be declared invalid.

What if fewer votes are cast?
If a voter casts votes for only two or three candidates and does not vote for the third or fourth candidate, and also does not press the NOTA button, the voting process will remain incomplete. In such cases, the polling officer, in the presence of candidates’ representatives, will press the NOTA button to complete the process.