Kerala Assembly elections 2026: Home voting option to cover 19,854 electors in Kozhikode district

As many as 19,854 electors in Kozhikode district are expected to avail the ‘home voting’ option, under which polling officials will reach them at their doorstep to record votes. The service is extended to persons with disabilities and senior citizens aged above 85 who had submitted formal applications in advance following the Election Commission’s guidelines.

According to official data, the district has 16,278 voters above the age of 85 and 32,232 voters in the category of persons with disabilities. Of them, 7,970 senior citizens and 11,884 differently abled persons who expressed willingness to avail themselves of home voting service with the submission of Form 12 D have been granted the facility.

The election authorities confirmed that those who opted for home voting would not be permitted to vote at polling booths. The entries will be recorded in the electoral roll for further proceedings and monitoring, they said.

To complete the process with transparency, a team comprising two polling officials, a micro observer, a videographer, and a police officer will visit voters on the polling day. Booth-level officers will coordinate the procedures in the respective areas.

The ‘Vote from Home’ option rolled out during the 2024 general elections had covered 13,504 voters in Kozhikode district. It had then included 9,360 senior citizens and 4,144 persons with disabilities. There were 15,404 applicants. According to official figures, 89% of eligible senior citizens and around 85% of differently abled voters had been covered then under the initiative.

In the Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituency, 6,024 voters had availed themselves of the home voting option, including 4,195 senior citizens and 1,829 persons with disabilities. In the Vadakara constituency, it benefitted 7,480 voters, including 5,165 elderly voters and 2,315 persons with disabilities.

Across Kerala, a little over 1.42 lakh elderly citizens and persons with disabilities had exercised their franchise using the home voting facility. According to the Election Commission’s records, 1,02,285 voters were senior citizens. The number of differently abled persons was 40,514.