Subbalakshmi, 91, a voter from the Ernakulam Assembly constituency, shares her joy with District Election Officer and District Collector G Priyanka after casting her home vote
Kerala’s quietest polling stations this week were not set up in schools or community halls, but in living rooms and sickbeds. Over the past two days, 51,993 voters aged 85 and above, along with persons with disabilities (PwDs ), cast their ballots from home, assisted by teams of polling officials and watched by a videographer.
Of these, 36,017 belonged to the super senior category, while 15,906 were PwDs, according to official figures. Yet, they represent only a fraction of the 2.07 lakh voters eligible for home voting. Alongside, 518 essential service workers — healthcare staff and others who could not leave their jobs sites — also exercised their franchise under the absentee voter category.
A sizeable polling team has been deployed for the exercise, in which eligible voters had to submit Form 12D to the Returning Officer (RO). Voters are informed in advance via SMS of the approximate time of the visit. If a voter is unavailable, a second and final attempt is scheduled. In Ernakulam, 91-year-old Subbalakshmi, from Chandrasekharan Menon Road, was among the first to vote from home. Her son Murali said that a number of officials, including the District Collector, arrived to take Subbalakshmi’s vote.
“It was not a voting machine but a paper ballot — they folded it and sealed it in an envelope and then put it in a box,” he said, describing how buttermilk flowed as a lot of mediapersons had arrived to capture the moment, which was almost like an impromptu party.
Elsewhere in the district, 104-year-old Mary Sebastian of Cheranallur stood out as the oldest home voter. Ernakulam had identified 1,559 eligible voters, within a larger pool of 14,117 elderly voters and 4,424 PwDs. In Edappally, several senior citizens aged 85-plus, especially those with mobility issues, availed the home voting option and praised the efficiency and smoothness of the process. There were several near 90 year olds who declined home voting, saying they would go to the booth and vote.
Glitches in system
But even as the system strives for inclusivity, it was not without its own share of glaring gaps. Complaints have surfaced of BLOs failing to arrive at the scheduled time, leaving families anxious and voters prepared but unheard. Caretakers of another nonagenarian in rural Ernakulam said they had readied the frail voter for a 10 am visit on Monday after being informed by officials, but no one turned up. There has been no communication either.
In Thiruvananthapuram, at least two such instances have been reported. A 91-year-old retired CPWD engineer was listed for home voting after a referral by his residents’ association, but never received a call. Ironically, his grandson who has partial cognitive impairment did receive one. The family eventually declined the offer, stating he could travel to a polling station.
In another case, an 88-year-old retired senior official from VSSC, was similarly left waiting. Despite being on the list, neither the promised call nor the visit materialised even on the second designated day, according to his daughter.
There are also those who never made it onto the rolls. A CPI(M) branch member and residents’ association president in Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, said he could not refer at least two bedridden elderly persons, underscoring how even well-intentioned provisions can miss the most vulnerable.
For many, home voting has brought dignity and access in terms of democracy delivered gently at the doorstep. For others, it remains a promise yet to be fulfilled, measured in missed calls, empty hours and silence of officials who did not arrive.
With inputs from Chitra Narayanan and V Sajeev Kumar
Published on April 1, 2026
