Mobile Phones, Smartwatches Not Allowed Inside Polling Booths: Reports

The Lok Sabha General Election 2024 in India is in full swing, with Phase 5 fast approaching. Many voters who will cast their votes for the first time wonder whether they can carry mobile phones, smartwatches, and other smart devices when they enter their designated polling stations. With conflicting information circulating online, people want clarity before leaving their homes to vote.

Mobile Phones in Polling Booths: To Carry or Not?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has explicitly prohibited voters from carrying mobile phones, smartphones, smart watches, wireless devices, and other communication gadgets inside polling booths on election days. This policy, detailed in ECI's Code of Conduct, aims to prevent any attempts to compromise the integrity and secrecy of the voting process. While laptops and some types of devices are not addressed in the document, it is interesting to see that smart watches have specifically been called out.

However, the implementation of this ban appears to be inconsistent across states and constituencies. In Pune, for instance, the District Collector had seemingly declared a total ban on mobile phones within 100 metres of a polling booth, but local authorities said that enforcement would be impossible, and were allowing people to enter after turning their phones off. In Karnataka, special trays have been placed with the presiding officer so voters can come to the polling booth with their devices, but store them safely before entering to cast their vote.

Additionally, there have been reports of people being prohibited from entering polling booths with their phones and other gadgets, forcing them to ask someone to wait outside and take turns or find a safe place to deposit them until their votes are cast.

"The voter slips were on our phone, so we took turns to vote while the other waited outside with the phone," a voter from Pimpri, Pune, told The Indian Express.

However, in Rajkot, a person was arrested, and his phone confiscated for allegedly taking a picture while casting his vote and sharing it on social media.

The ECI guidelines clearly disallow voter use of mobile phones inside polling stations, and the risk of being turned away or of potential legal consequences is not worth it. Therefore, the safest approach is to leave all gadgets at home or secure them in vehicles before entering polling premises.