With the highest turnout of 80.66 percent, Andhra Pradesh

Of all the States that participated in voting during the country’s first four election phases, Andhra Pradesh achieved the highest percentage of polling at 80.66%. Speaking during a news conference on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena said that 81.86% of voters in the State cast ballots overall when 1.1% of postal ballots are included.

In the Assembly seats, Darsi had the highest voting percentage (90.91%), while Tirupati recorded the lowest voter participation (63.32%). Ongole had the highest voting percentage (87.06%) and Visakhapatnam had the lowest (71.11%) among the Lok Sabha seats. The State’s voting percentage was 78.41% in 2014, climbed to 79.77% in 2019, and is currently at 80.66% in 2024. 1.1% of votes were cast by mail, and 81.86% of votes were cast overall, or nearly 82%, of the total. This is the percentage that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been striving for ahead of the elections through a variety of voter awareness campaigns.

“The high voter turnout on May 13 is a positive indication of democracy.” We made every effort to ensure that each voter could exercise their right to vote when they arrived at the polls. Voter participation was strong in the morning and somewhat lower in the afternoon, although after 4 pm, a sizable number of people showed up at the voting places. Voters were waiting in long lines at up to 3,500 polling places by 6 p.m. to cast their ballots. He clarified that in some locations, voting ended at midnight, and the last polling site to close was at two in the morning.

The Chief Executive Officer said that the weather was to blame for the voting delay, as prolonged downpours caused polling to be suspended in Udayagiri, Konaseema, and several Uttar Pradesh locations. All of the EVMs were sealed and moved into strong rooms under the watchful eyes of election monitors. “175 strong rooms were set up for the Assembly segments,” he said.

4.97 lakh voters cast postal ballots, including those who chose to vote at home (those 85 years of age or older and those with disabilities), government workers who were assigned to election duties, and critical service personnel.

On that particular occasion, he described how the poll administrators had made sure that 2,000 Visakhapatnam voters had traveled by rail from the Maharashtra area, but that they had been delayed. The election authorities worked with railway officials to guarantee a clear path for the train they were riding in, and by 5.27 pm, the train had arrived in Vizag. He said, “This demonstrates that the Election Commission of India is working tirelessly to guarantee that voters can exercise their right to vote.”

He also described how the electoral commission changed the current regulations to provide special casual leave, which enabled State police personnel sent to Maharashtra to cast ballots.