17-Year-Olds Can Now Apply for Voter ID Card in Advance

The Election Commission of India has issued new guidelines for voter registration on Thursday, announcing that citizens above 17 years of age can apply in advance for a voter ID card.

Before this, a citizen had to be 18 years of age on January 1 to get enrolled in the voters’ list.

Now, youngsters will get four chances every year to enroll in the voters’ list. The Election Commission of India has directed states to work out tech-enabled solutions so that citizens above the age of 17 can “file their advance applications with reference to three subsequent qualifying dates – April 01, July 01 and October 01.

This means that if a person is 18 years of age on any of the four dates (January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1), they can register to vote.

"For the current round of annual revision of electoral roll, 2023, any citizen attaining the age of 18 years by April 1, July 1 and October 1 of 2023 can also submit an advance application for registration as a voter from the date of draft publication of electoral roll," the ECI announced. 

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