Training conducted for officials to conduct postal ballot

Trichy: Trichy district administration's election office conducted a training session on Wednesday for officials regarding postal ballot voting from home for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.District election officer and district collector V Saravanan led the session for micro observers, presiding officers, and assistant presiding officers at the district collectorate.The election office is making arrangements for senior citizens aged above 85 years (AVSC) and persons with disabilities (AVPD) with not less than 40% disability who are unable to come to the polling station in person to cast their votes through postal ballot from their homes.Accordingly, in the nine assembly constituencies of Trichy district, 83 mobile teams are set to visit the residences of 4,947 senior citizens and 3,646 persons with disabilities who have submitted Form 12D expressing their willingness to vote by postal ballot.These visits are scheduled on April 13, 14 and 15. If any voter is not available at their residence on the above dates, a second opportunity will be provided on April 16 and 17. Voters who have submitted Form 12D expressing their desire to vote by postal ballot but do not cast their vote even after two direct visits by the mobile teams will not be allowed to vote at the polling station on April 23.The collector instructed the booth level officers to inform the concerned voters about the visit of the teams through telephone on the previous day. He also urged micro observers to monitor the entire voting process and record videos while asking the teams to maintain secrecy.