Assembly Elections 2026: How to vote from home for elderly and disabled

The States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry are heading for elections to their Legislative Assemblies.

Approximately 17.4 crore people are eligible to vote in the elections.

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To ease the process of voting and to make it accessible to all people, the Election Commission of India has updated and streamlined its “home voting” facility. This allows elderly and disabled voters to cast their votes from home rather than visiting a polling booth. 

Here’s everything you need to know. 

Eligibility criteria

Senior citizens aged 85 years and above and Persons with Disabilities(PwDs) who have a minimum 40% benchmark disability (as certified by a medical authority) are eligible to vote from home.

Some essential service workers, like people working in healthcare, who cannot leave their posts, may also be eligible under the “Absentee Voter” category.

How to apply for a vote from home?

In order to  vote from home, one must follow a strict timeline: 

Form 12D

Within five days of the election notification being issued in your constituency, you must submit Form 12 D to the Returning Officer(RO), i.e. the person responsible for overseeing the entire election process within a specific constituency. 

Visit by Booth Level Officers

Booth Level Officers, or BLOs, are tasked with visiting the homes of identified 85+ and PwD voters to distribute and collect these forms.

Documentation

PwD voters must attach a copy of their disability certificate to the form.

Process of home voting 

Once your application for home voting is approved, a team will visit your house

A full team, including two polling officials, a videographer to document the process and security officials, will visit your residence.

A temporary voting compartment is set up in your home to ensure the secrecy of the ballot.

The date and approximate time of the visit will be sent to you via SMS in advance.

If you are not home during the first visit, the team will schedule a second and final visit. However, if you miss both the visits, you cannot vote at the polling booth on election day. 

Total number of home voters

The Election Commission of India has released the total number of eligible home voters in the four states and one Union Territory going to elections.