Despite legal recognition, the enrolment of transgender persons and overseas Indians in electoral rolls remains low. Analyse the causes and suggest remedies.

Under Articles 325–326, every adult citizen has a right to be on the electoral roll, and no one can be left off on grounds of sex. Yet Tamil Nadu's draft roll for SSR 2027 lists only 7,892 third-gender electors out of 5.77 crore, about 0.014% [1]. Overseas Indians have been able to enrol since the 2010 amendment [4], but few do. In both cases the problem is not the law. It is access, documents and the way enrolment is designed.

Causes: Transgender persons

• Documents don't match: NALSA (2014) recognised a third gender [3]. But the 2019 Act still sends the identity certificate through the District Magistrate [2], and older IDs show the gender recorded at birth.
• Wrong entries: many are enrolled as male or female, and changing that entry needs a separate Form 8 correction [1].
• Social exclusion: rejection by family and frequent moves leave many without stable address proof, and stigma keeps them away from official offices.
• Voter must act first: a summary revision depends on citizens filing forms at camps or at BLO/ERO offices [1]. Marginalised groups are the least likely to do this.

Causes: Overseas Indians

• Must vote in person: an overseas elector has to be physically present in the constituency to vote [5], so enrolling brings little practical benefit.
• Paperwork: Form 6A needs self-attested documents, filed with the ERO for the passport address, and is then verified at the foreign address [4].
• Who can enrol: people who have taken foreign citizenship are excluded [4].
• Reform stalled: the Bill allowing proxy voting passed the Lok Sabha but lapsed [5].

Remedies

• Self-declaration: accept a person's self-perceived gender at enrolment, in line with NALSA [3] and the 2019 Act [2], and make the Form 8 gender change simpler.
• Targeted outreach (SVEEP): run enrolment drives with transgender community organisations, and train BLOs to be sensitive.
• Publish data: release enrolment of third-gender and overseas electors constituency by constituency, so gaps can be seen.
• Remote voting: bring back proxy or e-postal voting, with safeguards for ballot secrecy [5].
• Help through missions: Indian embassies can help with online Form 6A filing and document checks [4].

Both groups are under-enrolled because of procedure, not because the law excludes them. Moving the burden from the voter to the State, through self-identification, outreach and remote voting, would make Article 326's universal franchise real. It would also advance SDG 16.7, which calls for inclusive and representative decision-making.