Forty Percent Muslims and Minorities Excluded from Voting get Another Chance in Karnataka
Millions of voters are missing in India, and not everyone is allowed to exercise their right to vote - An important political right
An integral part of a functioning democracy is the right to vote. In fact, the only time most citizens participate in their democracy is through their right to vote. When this right is taken away, the people that are most negatively affected are the most vulnerable population of society, especially women and minorities.
Karnataka is the eighth-largest state in India with a population of approximately 67 million. Many of its minorities are eligible to vote but are unregistered. The names of about 18 lakh (1.8 million) Muslim voters were found to be missing from the recently updated voters’ list or they didn’t have voter ID cards issued in their name for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018, according to research by CRDDP and USIPI. Khalid Saifullah of CRDDP said that they arrived at their findings after comparing the 2011 census data with the voters’ list that was published on Feb. 28, 2018.
This has never happened
As a result of the extensive outreach efforts by USIPI Chief Scholar Dr. Abusaleh Shariff and CRDDP, the electoral commission of Karnataka agreed to allow the voter registration deadline extended until April 14, 2018. This will give at least a large portion of those who were unregistered a right to vote and participate in their democracy.
In an even more unprecedented move, the Election Commission in Karnataka has also decided to have a special drive on Sunday, April 8, 2018. All polling stations will be opened specifically to register voters, polling stations which are normally only open on voting days. This has never happened before in the history of India. In essence, if every newly registered voter shows up to vote in the upcoming elections, it could change who is elected.
District Development project update
As part of the District Development project, USIPI has chosen four verticals for improving outcomes on the ground: education, health, citizenship, and economic wellbeing.
USIPI and its partner organization in India, CRDDP started work in Karnataka and Maharashtra last year and hope to expand to other states. On the issue of citizenship and exclusion in voter registrations, USIPI plans to perform sampling in other states in India and publish a position paper soon.