NOTA Full Form

NOTA, “against all” or a ‘Scratch vote” whatever you say, NOTA gives the voters a right which enables them not to vote for any party or candidate who is contesting in the election. If you are voting NOTA, this will generally mean that you have no faith or confidence in the candidates, you basically express dissatisfaction when you vote NOTA. 

However, voting NOTA does not make any significant difference in the election results, it only takes your NOTA count as no vote given to either of the parties. The parties will still win if other voters have voted for the contestants.

Well, this is a very interesting topic, especially for us as we live in a democratic India. Hence, we must extensively talk about NOTA, NOTA long form, and other important aspects in this context. 

NOTA Full form

The long form of NOTA is ‘None of the above’. The acronym ‘NOTA’ was always seen on the electronic voting machine (EVM), even if the public knew its use (press NOTA if you do not support any contestants) they barely know the full form of NOTA. So, here we know NOTA long form or full form of NOTA, further we will discuss its introduction, advantages and disadvantages, and other important factors of it.

Pioneer of NOTA

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On 27th September, in the year 2013, the Supreme Court of India ruled that there should be an option as a right to register as "none of the above" vote in the elections. Hence, ordered the ECI (Election Commission of India) to provide a button for the same in the electronic voting machines (abbreviated as EVMs). So, we see the introduction of NOTA was not a long-ago story.

After a few months, in order to empower those voters selecting NOTA, the Election commission of India (ECI) introduced a button in the EVM with the ‘NOTA’ option in December 2013. The option of NOTA appears in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at the end of the list of all the candidates contesting in the election. 

Where was NOTA First Used?

In India in 2013 in the Assembly elections that were held in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and the Union Territory, Delhi. Over 15 lakh voters used the option ‘NOTA’ in these polls. NOTA is not only used in India, but also in many other countries such as Brazil, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Colombia, Spain, Sweden, France, Finland, Belgium, Greece, and other countries.

Objective Behind NOTA

The main objective of the ‘NOTA’ option is to enable the electors who do not wish to vote for any candidates. This is basically done to exercise their right in order to reject without the violation of the secrecy of their own decision. The voters should be eligible to register a vote of his or her rejection if they feel that the candidates who are contesting do not deserve to be voted in the election. The Right to vote also means that citizens must be allowed to vote of disapproval as well.

• Backdated Rule replaced by EVM  

According to the Conduct of Elections Rules, of the year 196, rule 49-O says that the “Elector deciding not to vote. If an elector after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form. 7A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.” 

• This means according to rule 49-O, the electors after registering with the electoral number decides not to record his vote or he does not wish to vote any of the contestants, then in this regard, there should be a remark and the said entry is done in Form 17A by the presiding officer and against such remark, the thumb impression or the signature is to be obtained of the wisher who wished not to vote. 

• Well, this caused hindrance to the personal choice, the person voting this was open to threats also this was a long procedure hence, once the EVM was introduced, there was no need to file Form 49-O anymore or to take permission from any presiding officer for own choice.

NOTA Scenario in India

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This was the symbol used in NOTA in ballot papers and now in EVMs in India.

In the year 2009, the Election Commission of India told the Supreme Court that it wished to offer the voter an option called "none of the above" on the ballots, which the government had initially opposed. After which the People’s Union for Civil Liberties which is a non-governmental organization filed a public-interest litigation statement in support of this motion. 

After which on 27th September 2013, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the right to register a "none of the above" vote in elections should be applied, and the court ordered the Election Commission to provide such a button in the EVM.

Also, the Election Commission clarified that even though the votes cast as NOTA are being counted, they are eventually considered as invalid votes so this will not change the outcome of the election process. This will only represent one’s dissatisfaction and the right to vote for no one. 

In 2014, elections NOTA polled around 1.1% of the votes, which counted to over 6,000,000. 

The specific symbol for NOTA in a ballot paper is a black cross, this was introduced on 18th September in the year 2015. The symbol was designed by the National Institute of Design, in Ahmedabad.   

Is NOTA Good or Bad?

Here we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of NOTA. 

First Talking About the Advantages: 

• NOTA option allows the Country or the platform that is using this method to understand the level of understanding and the reason behind each candidate’s choices. 

• NOTA allows every individual to have their own freedom to choose none of the candidates and thereby expressing that the individual is not good enough to govern them. 

• NOTA demonstrates the basic human right – The right to Freedom of Expression when not in favour of any candidate. 

• NOTA also can increase the voter turn-out, this will allow the citizens to vote for an option that will go against both the individuals who are running a presidential race, instead of not putting a vote at all. 

• An increase in the NOTA option also showcases that the public is not satisfied with the candidates.
  
  

Next, Talking About the Disadvantages of NOTA:

• People can be influenced by other citizens for voting the ‘NOTA’ option without even understanding the meaning. 

• Options can be an option that can be ruled out because of the NOTA option, and this would be a question because of the Electoral college voting system. 

• The NOTA option can also lead to revote because of the dissatisfaction with the options available, which can delay the entire process. 

• NOTA can also be easily manipulated by any political parties or any individuals who want one party over any other party, which would create chaos during the election time.