Remote Electronic Voting Machines

Remote Electronic Voting Machines

News: The Election Commission recently announced that it has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), amid concerns over migration-based disenfranchisement, to boost voter turnout and strengthen India’s democratic process.

What led to it?
• As per the 2011 census, there are nearly 45.36 crores (forty-five point three six) migrants in India (both intra and interstate) – nearly 37% of the country’s population.
• These migrants are unable to travel to vote, denying a large chunk of the population its franchise, going against the EC’s motto – “No voter left behind”.
• The EC had formed a Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants, which recommended (in 2016) internet voting, proxy voting, early voting and postal ballots for migrant workers (rejected due to concerns like lack of secrecy of the vote, the lack of sanctity of one person one vote principle, issues of accessibility, etc.)
• Thus, a technological solution was proposed which allows voters to vote remotely, in a safe and controlled environment.

How will RVM help?
• RVMs were developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
• The RVMs are stand-alone, non-networked systems, allowing voters from multiple constituencies to vote using the same machine.
• They will be set up in remote locations outside the state under similar conditions as current polling booths.

Key Features:
• A single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU) - To cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72) by using a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usually printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs.
• Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD) - It will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card, which can be read by a barcode scanning system.

How will voting process be carried out?
• After verifying a voter’s identity, their constituency card will be read with a public display showing the constituency details and candidates.
• This will also be displayed privately (on the BUOD in the RVM’s RBU) and the voter will then vote and each vote will be stored constituency-wise in the control unit.
• The voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system is expected to work along the same lines as the new technology.

What are the challenges?
• Providing controlled environment and ensuring secrecy of voting at remote locations.
• Provision of polling agents at remote voting booths and ensuring identification of voters to avoid impersonation. 
• Familiarity of voters with the newer methods and RVM’s as such will be a big task and counting of votes cast at remote booths and transmit to RO located in other state.
• Legal challenges that may pertain to defining migrant voter, remote voting etc.
• The system has issues, some of which the EC has itself acknowledged. For example, Migrants are not a uniform and defined class, with fluid identities, locations and situations.
• As various countries reject EVMs for paper-based ballots, this move may have the potential to raise further questions on the sanctity of the electoral process itself.
• Remote voting can theoretically provide an added edge to bigger parties and richer candidates who can campaign across the constituency and beyond.
The EC has invited all recognized national parties and state political parties on January 16 to demonstrate the functioning of the RVM and has asked for their written views by January 31.