Poll panel standardises voting compartment in booths

New Delhi, Nov 20: The Election Commission Friday said that voting compartments in polling stations should be made only of cardboard or plastic board and these should not be located near the window or door to "maintain secrecy of vote at the time of poll".

"During the last few elections, it has come to the notice of the commission that in many polling stations the voting compartments were not erected in a desirable manner," the commission said in a statement here.

"While in some, the voting compartments made with the help of cardboard were not of sufficient height; in others the cloth used was of poor quality and transparent."

In such cases, the secrecy of voting could have been compromised, it said.

"In order to maintain secrecy of vote at the time of poll, the commission desires that the voting compartment shall be made only of cardboard/plastic board (non-transparent and that can be reused) and shall be in three folds of dimension 21"X21" in the minimum."

If more than one ballot unit is used for the poll, the width of the voting compartment may be increased as per requirement, the poll panel added.

The commission said that in certain other cases, it was noticed that voting compartments were placed next to windows/doors.

"In such cases, it was quite possible that others could see or guess the electors casting their votes. In the process, secrecy of voting could be compromised," the commission said.

In no case should the voting compartment be placed near the window/door and the secrecy of votes should not be violated, it said.