Need to know about NOTA?? - shared by Prof Manisha dept of Pol Science

 NOTA

None of the Above is the full form of NOTA. Many times, it has been observed that if people do

not want to vote for a candidate because of local issues such as electricity, water, roads, or the

candidates criminal records, how will they register their protest? To empower the voice of the

voters, the Election Commission has developed a mechanism in the voting system that allows

people to reject all candidates

So, in effect, NOTA provides voters in each constituency the option of pushing the NOTA

button on the EVMs if they do not want to vote for any of the candidates contesting the election

On 27 September 2013, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the right to register a &quote none of the

above  vote in elections should apply, while ordering the Election Commission to provide a

button for the same in the electronic voting machines.

The ECI introduced a particular symbol for ‘None of the Above’ option to allow the voters to

exercise NOTA. This symbol appears in the last panel on all Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs).

The main objective of the ‘NOTA’ option is to enable electors who do not wish to vote for

any of the candidates to exercise their right to reject without violation of the secrecy of their

decision. The voter must be eligible to register a vote of rejection if they feel that the

contesting candidates do not deserve to be voted for. The Right to vote granted to all citizens

must allow the vote of disapproval.

Keep in mind that the votes cast for the NOTA are counted, but they are considered unlawful

votes, meaning that NOTA votes have no bearing on the elections outcome.

Prof Manisha 

Dept of Pol Science 

Lyallpur Khalsa College 

Kapurthala