As Nagpur votes today to elect corporators to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), citizens are advised to clearly understand the voting process to avoid confusion at polling stations. To help voters locate their polling booths easily, the NMC’s Information and Technology Department has introduced a new digital facility. Voters can now find their polling station through the NMC website, civic chatbot, AI Mitra service and the My Nagpur mobile app. Booth details can be searched using the voter’s name or EPIC number printed on the voter ID card, in Marathi or English. Officials say, searching by EPIC number gives quicker and more accurate results.

 

At the polling station, election staff will verify the voter’s name in the electoral roll and apply indelible ink on one finger to prevent repeat voting. The voter is then guided to a screened voting compartment to ensure secrecy. Voting will take place through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as per the multi-member Prabhag system prescribed by the State Election Commission, Maharashtra. Each ward seat within a prabhag is shown separately on the EVM and is colour-coded for easy identification: ‘A’ seat is white, ‘B’ light pink, ‘C’ light yellow, ‘D’ light blue and ‘E’ light green. Voters must carefully identify their ward seat and press the blue button next to the chosen candidate’s name and symbol. A beep sound after all the four votes confirms that the vote has been recorded.

 

There is no VVPAT or paper slip in this election, and once the beep is heard, the vote cannot be changed or cancelled. Most Prabhags have four wards. However, Prabhag No. 38 has only three wards, making it an exception. Voters from this prabhag must be especially cautious. The entire process takes less than two minutes. A little attention ensures that every vote is cast correctly today.