India, the largest republic globally, celebrates the freedom of choosing the head of state by providing every citizen with voting rights. Thus, election day in this country becomes an epic day for the whole world.

To choose and elect the right public representative for the nation, one must have a voter ID card. In addition, it acts as an important document of identity proof.

Voter ID card, also named EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card), is a photo identity card issued by the Election Commission of India to provide citizens with voting rights. In addition, it serves as a valid identity proof of citizens throughout the country.

Once applicants are all aware of what a voter ID is, they need to know the structure of the card or the information available in the document. This card consists of details mentioned below -

• A unique Serial number
• Cardholder’s photograph
• A hologram containing the symbol of the respective state or national emblem 
• Name of cardholder
• Father’s name of cardholder
• Card holder’s gender
• Card holder’s date of birth

To be eligible to have a voter’s card -

• One has to be a citizen of India
• Individuals must be aged 18 years or above
• Applicants must have a residing address
• One must not be financially bankrupt

This is one of the most important documents to validate the identity of a citizen. It can be useful for many reasons -

• An election voter id card is a valid and accepted document for a person’s identity.
• It serves as the address proof of the cardholder.
• This card acknowledges a person as a citizen of India.
• Every cardholder has the right to cast a vote and choose his/her preferred public representative.
• This card helps in preventing fraudulent votes at the time of election.
• Voter ID is designed keeping in mind our country’s low literacy rate.
• It can be effective as identity proof for voters not having any permanent address.
• This document facilitates voters to register their name and vote from any state apart from their permanent residency. Thus, voters can vote from an address they are temporarily dwelling in.

A citizen can apply for this document in 3 different ways. Apart from online and offline, the applicants can apply for it partly online.

The step-by-step processes of all 3 ways are stated below.

An applicant can follow the steps below to apply online for Voter ID card:

• Visit the official website of NVSP (national voter’s service portal) and hover to “Register” as a new voter to apply for an election card online.
• Fill out Form 6 for general voters and Form 6A for NRI voters and submit.
• Scan and upload a soft copy of the required documents along with a recent photograph.
• In case of applying for changing any information (Name, Photo, Age, EPIC Number, Address, Date of birth, Age, Name of relative, Type of relation, Gender) on voter’s card, please fill Form 8. Similarly, to shift residence from one place to another, fill Form 8A.

Below are some steps that individuals can follow for offline application of Voter ID card:

• Applicants must visit any nearest State Election Office and request Form 6.
• Fill Form 6 with necessary details and provide all supporting documents such as Identity proof, address proof (birth certificate) and others.
• Submit this filled-in form to the respective election office.

Individuals can follow the steps below for partial online application for your Voter ID card:

• Start by visiting the National Voter’s Service Portal or NVSP and click on “Register” for an election ID card.
• Download Form 6 and enter all relevant information required to fill in the form.
• Attach the essential documents along with a photo and submit the completed form to any nearest Election office or post office.

After completing all procedures and document verification properly for all the 3 types of applications, your voter ID will be generated and delivered to the registered address.