The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that it has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine which would enable remote voting by migrant voters, reported The Hindu.
Remote Electronic Voting Machines (RVM) can handle multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
The ECI said that it has invited all recognized 8 national and 57 State political parties on 16 January to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM and has already shared a concept note with them on legal, operational, administrative and technological challenges.
The commission has solicited written views of recognised political parties by 31 January on various related issues including changes required in legislation, changes in administrative procedures and voting method or RVM technology, if any other, for the domestic migrants, reads the report.
Sources in the Election Commission told The Hindu that the idea was to implement voter portability as a pilot project in the upcoming Assembly elections in nine states in 2023.
This means that if the pilot is successful then in the 2024 general elections voter portability can be fully implemented.
“Migration-based disenfranchisement is indeed not an option in the age of technological advancement. The voter turnout in General Elections 2019 was 67.4% and the Election Commission of India is concerned about the issue of over 30 crore electors not exercising their franchise and also differential voter turnout in various States/Union Territories,” the commission said in a statement.
The commission said that a concept note has been circulated amongst political parties highlighting the challenges of defining domestic migrants, implementation of Model Code of Conduct, ensuring secrecy of voting, facility of polling agents for identification of voters, process and method of remote voting, and counting of votes amongst other issues.
Among the laws and rules which would need an amendment to implement remote voting is The Representation of People’s Act of 1950 and 1951, The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The definition of migrant voter would also need to be reworked with respect to retaining registration at the original place in the context of the legal construct of “ordinary residence” and “temporary absence”. Also, the territorial constituency concept of remote voting and defining remoteness itself that is an outside constituency, outside district or outside state will need to be dealt with.
The administrative challenges include enumerating remote voters-self declaration, ensuring secrecy of voting at remote locations, provision of polling agents at remote voting booths, and ensuring identification of voters to avoid impersonation.
Other areas to work on would include the appointment of polling personnel for remote polling stations and supervision thereof, the number of polling booths to be set up and their locations, the appointment of polling personnel for remote polling stations and implementation of Model Code of Conduct in remote locations.
Some of the technological challenges would be the method of remote voting, the familiarity of the voters with the Multi-Constituency Remote EVM and the counting of votes.
The ECI noted that there were multifarious reasons for a voter not opting to register in a new place of residence, thus missing out on exercising the right to vote. The inability to vote due to internal migration is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections.
Out-migration due to the need to work, marriage, and education, is predominant among the rural population in overall domestic migration. Approximately 85 percent of the internal migration is within the States.
The Commission said it was now ready to pilot a Multi Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) with a well-known Public Sector Undertaking. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
“The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences, not enough social and emotional connect with the issues of an area of migration, unwillingness to get their name deleted in the electoral roll of their home/native constituencies as they have permanent residence/property,” the ECI said, as per the report by The Hindu.
