Under Article 324 of the Constitution the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the
electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Parliament and to the Legislative Assembly of
every State and of the elections to the offices of President & Vice-President, are vested in the Election
Commission which consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. The powers vested
in the Election Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution are supplemented further by Acts of
Parliament, namely the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Representation of the People Act, 1951,
the Presidential and Vice Presidential Act, 1952, etc.At the state level, the election work is supervised
subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission, by the Chief Electoral
Officer (appointed by the Election Commission) and the officers and staff working under him.
The Chief Electoral Officer is normally appointed from the Indian Administrative Service. The district
electoral machinery comprises the District Election Officers (DEOs) [generally the Collectors or District
Magistrates; in the case of Chennai, the Commissioner of the Corporation], Electoral Registration Officers
(EROs) & AEROs (for preparation & maintenance of electoral rolls) (generally officers in the level of
Sub-Divisional Magistrates), Returning Officers (ROs) & AROs (for conduct of elections) and other officials
[like Personal Assistant (Elections) to the Collectors, Presiding and Polling officers] appointed for the
conduct of elections.
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer was set up in Tamil Nadu before the first general elections in
independent India in 1952, with reference to the provisions of Section 13A of the Representation of People
Act, 1950, for carrying out the following