Qualification for an Elector

The electoral roll of a Rural / Urban Local Body shall be the same as the current electoral roll of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly pertaining to the area covered by the Rural / Urban Local Body, as prepared and revised in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of People Act 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. This means that a person whose name finds a place within a Rural / Urban Local Body area in the electoral roll of the concerned Legislative Assembly Constituency is automatically included in the Rural / Urban Local Body electoral roll and consequently gets qualified to vote in the elections to that Rural / Urban Local Body.

The following are the conditions for registration of a person as an elector in the Legislative Assembly Electoral rolls:-

1. He/She should be a citizen of India.

2. He/She should not be less than 18 years of age on the qualifying date i.e., he/she should have completed 18 years of age on the first January of the year in which the electoral roll is prepared.
   (Please note that the crucial date for ascertaining the age of a candidate for purposes of contesting in the election and the qualifying date for an elector are different)

3. He/She should ordinarily be a resident of the constituency area.

4. He/She should not have been declared as of unsound mind by a competent court.

5. He/She should not have been disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt practices and other offences in elections (Sections 16 & 19 of the Representation of People Act, 1950).

6. A person shall not be entitled to have his/her name registered in the electoral roll of more than one place. (Sections 17 and 18 of Representation of People Act 1950).

The provision in Section 35 & 36 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994 and Section 12 & 32 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 stipulate the following conditions for a voter to exercise his/her franchise:-

1. He/She should not have been convicted of an offence punishable under chapter IX-A of Indian Penal Code and under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of election to the Legislative Assembly of the State or is disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force shall be disqualified from voting in any election.

2. He/She should not have been disqualified under Section 36 of Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994. He should not have been convicted of an electoral offence punishable under the Sections 58 to 71 of the said Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994 and Sections 13 to 26 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 and relevant provisions of the other Urban Acts.

3. No person who is of unsound mind and declared so by a competent court and no person who is disqualified for election offence shall be qualified to vote so long as the disqualification subsists.

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