Booth Level Officer

Booth Level Officer Latest News

Recently, concerns have been raised with several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deaths have been reported from the states undergoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

About Booth Level Officer

• A BLO is a representative of the Election Commission of India (ECI) at the grass-root level who assists in updating the roll using his local knowledge.
• They are local government/semi-government officials who are familiar with the local electors and enrolled as voters in the same polling area.
  • Teachers, Anganwadi workers, Panchayat Secretary, Village Level Workers, Electricity Bill Readers, etc are mainly appointed as BLOs.
• BLOs are not full-time electoral officials. 
  • Section 13B (2) of the Representation of People Act, 1950 provision paved the way for the introduction of appointing a BLO for the first time in August 2006.

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Roles of Booth Level Officer

• They play a significant role in the process of roll revision and collecting actual field information with regard to the roll corresponding to the polling area assigned to them.
• They maintain accuracy and fidelity of the electoral roll at the polling booth level.
• Distribution of Voter Slips: An important role of the BLO is the distribution of Voter Slips to the voters’ households before the poll day. 
• Informing eligible voters for Postal Ballot: BLOs inform the eligible Electors (senior citizens above 85 years & PwDs with benchmark certificate) about availing Home Voting Facility and Postal Ballot Facility by filling Form 12D.
• Promote use of Election Commission’s IT applications:  BLOs to promote applications launched by the ECI to facilitate voting and ensure an accurate electoral roll. 
  • The popular voter oriented apps like Voter Helpline App, eVIGIL app, Know you candidate app, Saksham-ECI.

Source: IE