Remote Voting

IN NEWS

• In late 2022, the Election Commission of India (ECI) proposed a Remote EVM (R-EVM) to address issues related to domestic migrant voting. The goal was to improve the 67.4% voter turnout in the 2019 general election.

ABOUT R-EVM

• The term "R-EVM" stands for "Remote Electronic Voting Machine." It is a proposed system by the Election Commission of India (ECI) aimed at facilitating voting for domestic migrants who are unable to vote in their home constituencies due to their current location away from their registered constituencies.
• The R-EVM is designed to address the issue of domestic migrant voting, allowing registered voters who have moved away from their home constituencies to cast their votes remotely.

KEY FEATURES

• Registration Process: Voters interested in using the remote voting facility must register (online or offline) within a pre-notified timeframe with the concerned Returning Officer (RO) of their home constituency.
• Remote Polling Station: A multi-constituency remote polling station will be set up in the area of the voter's current residence, allowing for remote voting from that location.
• Handling Multiple Constituencies: The RVM can handle multiple constituencies (up to 72) from a single remote polling booth, making it efficient for voters from different constituencies to cast their votes at the same location.
• Voting Process: When the voter scans their constituency card in the presence of the Presiding Officer at the remote polling station, the respective constituency and candidate list will appear on the RVM display.

• The RVMs have the same security system and voting experience as the existing EVMs and use electronic ballot display to present candidates and their symbols instead of a fixed paper ballot sheet.
• Voters can select their preferred candidate on the RVM display. The system will count and store the votes for each candidate in a constituency.

NEED FOR REMOTE VOTING IN INDIA

• Disenfranchisement of Voters:
  • There are an estimated 600 million internal migrants as of 2020(450 million according to Census 2011).
  • Approximately 85% of migration is within the States. Internal migration happens for various reasons including employment, education and marriage.
  • Migration is considered to be a major reason behind the disenfranchisement of voters as they are unable to visit home constituency to cast their ballot.
• Decrease in Voting Turnout:
  • Out of a total of 910 million electors, over 300 million persons abstained from voting in the 2019 general elections.
  • Over 91% of the country’s eligible voters were registered for the general election of 2019, and 67% of them cast ballots—the highest voter turnout in the country’s history.
  • However, it is concerning that a third of eligible voters—a staggering 30 crore people—do not cast a ballot
• Increasing Registrations of Unorganised Workers:
  • The government’s e-SHRAM platform has approximately 10 million migrant workers registered.
  • Remote voting can leverage this extensive database to facilitate voting for these workers.
  • This can significantly boost the political engagement of this marginalized segment of the population.
• Lack of Access to Vote:
  • Migrant workers are denied this fundamental right to vote in two ways:
  • A voter can only register to vote in the constituency where they are a “permanent resident,” to start.
  • Second, people can only exercise their right to vote in person at the registered district where they are registered.

• Supreme Court’s Direction on Remote voting for migrants:
  • The Supreme Court (SC) had instructed the EC to look at solutions for remote voting in 2015 after hearing a petition regarding the purported restriction of voting chances to migrants.
• International Practices:
  • There are some countries such as Estonia, France, Panama, Pakistan, Armenia etc, which practice remote voting for the citizens living abroad or away from their respective constituencies.

CHALLENGES OF R-EVM

• Legal Challenges:
  • Amendments to existing electoral laws and rules, including the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951, Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, are required to accommodate remote voting.
  • Defining "migrant voter" : Migrants are a diverse group with a variety of identities, environments, and circumstances. The difficulty for the EC is to define migrants in a way that is both inclusive and prevents abuse of the system.
  • The specific parameters of remote voting, such as whether "remoteness" refers to locations outside the constituency, district, or state, need to be clearly defined in the law.

• Administrative Challenges:
  • Establishing a comprehensive migrant database and accurately enumerating remote voters is a logistical challenge.
  • Ensuring the secrecy of voting at remote locations is crucial to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.
  • Preventing impersonation or fraudulent voting in remote settings is a key administrative concern.
  • Determining the number and locations of remote polling booths requires careful planning and resource allocation.
  • Appointing qualified polling personnel for remote polling stations is essential to oversee the voting process.
  • Implementing the model code of conduct in locations outside the poll-bound state to maintain fairness and transparency poses administrative challenges.
  • Creating awareness about the remote voting facility among poor and illiterate migrant voters is vital to ensure inclusivity.
  • Integrating remote voting into the electoral concept of territorial constituencies or demarcated areas in states for equal representation of votes is a complex administrative task.
• Technological Challenges:
  • The security mechanism and voting procedure of the Multi-Constituency RVM for migrant voters will be the same as those of the EVM. This basically indicates that the difficulties with the current EVMs will continue to exist with relation to the RVMs
  • Familiarizing voters with the use of multi-constituency Remote Voting Machines (RVM) and ensuring their ease of use is a technological hurdle.
  • Counting votes cast at remote booths and securely transmitting the results to returning officers in the poll-bound state require robust and secure technological solutions.

WAY FORWARD

The officials are said to have informed the committee that the best way to introduce remote voting is through political consensus, but any system of remote voting must take into account the confidence and acceptance of all electoral stakeholders, including voters, political parties, and election machinery.

• Keeping Election Integrity:
  • An online voting system must show, as part of the verification process, that it has upheld election integrity and that there have been no manipulations of the voting or tallying procedures.
• Acceptability of the Stakeholders:
  • Any remote voting method must consider the trust and acceptance of all those involved in the electoral process, including voters, political parties, and election machinery.
  • The success of remote voting is significantly influenced by the stakeholders’ acceptance of it.
  • Stakeholders must view remote voting as a practical and secure alternative to conventional in-person voting in order for it to be adopted.
  • They must be persuaded that the process is genuine and valid, and that the outcomes will be accurate and impartial.
• Trust & Transparency:
  • Using an online voting system would be meaningless even with all of the necessary legal safeguards in place if the administration or the populace lacked confidence in its accuracy, security, and integrity.
  • To enhance the transparency of online voting technology and increase confidence in the results, a number of transparency measures must be established.
• Secure Technology in remote voting for migrants:
  • To avoid hacking and election process manipulation, remote voting equipment needs to be safe and impenetrable.
  • This can involve taking precautions like multi-factor authentication, encryption, and frequent security assessments.
• Voter Verification:
  • To ensure that only qualified voters may cast ballots, the remote voting process should have reliable voter verification procedures.
  • This can be done using techniques like digital signatures, biometric authentication, or voter ID verification.
• Auditing and Transparency:
  • Clear standards and procedures should be in place for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the vote count, and the remote voting process should be auditable and visible.
  • This may involve hiring impartial auditors and disclosing comprehensive vote tallies and results.
• Voter Education:
  • To guarantee that voters comprehend the procedure and can confidently and accurately cast their vote remotely, voter education and awareness initiatives are crucial.
• Legal Framework:
  • To guarantee that the remote voting process is open and accountable, a clear and strong legal framework outlining the guidelines, processes, and roles is required.
• Pilot Projects and Testing:
  • Begin with pilot projects in select regions or constituencies to test the remote voting system and identify any issues or improvements needed.
  • Use the feedback from pilot projects to refine the remote voting process and address technical, administrative, and legal challenges.

CONCLUSION

Implementing remote voting in India is a complex but essential undertaking, and a thoughtful and well-executed approach is crucial to making the electoral process more inclusive and accessible to all citizens, including those affected by internal migration.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q: Analyse the need and associated challenges of R-EVM in India.