REMOTE EVMS - POLITY
News: Explained
| Will migrants be able to vote remotely?
What's in the news?
● The
Election Commission of India (ECI) said on December 28 that it was ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants
through newly devised remote electronic voting machines (RVMs) so that the
voter does not have to travel to their home State or district to cast their
vote.
● The
EC will demonstrate an RVM prototype to political parties on January 16, and
has asked for their suggestions by January 31.
Remote EVMs:
● The
Election Commission of India (ECI) said on December 28 that it was ready to
pilot remote voting for domestic migrants through newly devised remote
electronic voting machines (RVMs).
● The
EC has now come up with a prototype for a
Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) for migrant voting,
a modified version of the existing EVM model.
What is the EC’s proposal for RVMs?
● The
EC says the RVM can handle multiple constituencies (up to 72) from a single
remote polling booth.
● The
voter will have to register
(online/offline) for a remote voting facility within a pre-notified time
with the concerned Returning Officer (RO) of their home constituency.
● Once
the voter is verified and marked eligible for remote voting, a
multi-constituency remote polling station will be set up in the area of their
current residence.
● The
RVMs will have the same security system
and voting experience as the EVM, with the modification of an electronic
ballot display with candidates and symbols instead of a fixed ballot paper
sheet.
● When
the voter scans his/her constituency card in the presence of the Presiding
Officer at the station, their respective constituency and candidate list will
appear on the RVM display.
● As
for counting the votes, the electronic system will also count and store the
votes for each candidate in a constituency.
Why Remote EVMs?
● To
provide domestic migrants - a voting option.
● To
ensure political equality.
Significance of Remote EVMs:
1. Right to vote:
● Right
to vote is a constitutional right
and needs to be ensured by all.
● Thus,
the Remote EVMs ensures the migrant laborers and other internal migrants to
ensure their right to vote.
2. Political equality:
● Inability to vote due to
internal migration (domestic migrants)
is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and
ensure participative elections.
● Thus,
it is the need of the hour to ensure political equality enshrined in the
constitution to all.
3. Role of EC in bringing out conducive environment:
● 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. Thus, nearly one-third
voters cannot cast their votes during the election due to their job nature and
migration issues.
● Hence,
it is the role of the Election Commission to bring out required facilities and
changes to ensure equal chances for voting to all is ensured by Remote EVMs.
4. Increasing number of internal migrants:
● As
per the 2011 census, 45.36 crore Indians
(37% of the population) were internal migrants, settled in a place
different from that of their registered residence.
● With
rising globalization and the economic potential of India, the migration level
still increases to the next level which needs to be dealt with innovative
methods like Remote EVMs.
5. SC judgement:
● In
its 2015 order on a plea seeking voting opportunities for domestic migrants,
the Supreme Court directed the EC to explore remote voting options.
● A committee of the poll
panel had considered remote voting options such
as proxy voting, postal ballots, Internet voting, and early voting but did not
recommend any of these methods citing various reasons.
● The
EC has now come up with a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic
Voting Machine (RVM) for migrant voting, a modified version of the existing EVM
model.
Issues:
1. Lack of data:
● The
EC has admitted that the absence of a
central database for migrants poses a problem on the issue of remote
voting.
2. Election campaigns:
● The
election campaigns which are an important part of the elections need to be
planned ideally in connection with remote locations is an issue for the political parties.
3. MCC:
● Ensuring
implementation of Model Code of Conduct in remote locations is another major
issue that needs to be dealt with by the Election Commission.
4. Infrastructure:
● Several
infrastructural challenges needs to be dealt by the Election Commission in
association of
○ Number
of polling booths to be set up and their locations.
○ Technological challenges
would be the method of remote voting.
○ Provision
of polling agents at remote voting booths and
○ Ensuring
identification of voters to avoid impersonation.
5. Undermine trust:
● Several
opposition parties expressed concerns that the use of the proposed remote
voting mechanism could seriously undermine the trust in the electoral system
and urged the EC to first restore it through transparency and via honest engagement with the Opposition’s
concerns.
6. Issues in definition of migrants:
● How
to define a migrant voter with respect to retaining registration at the
original place, whether they are staying
away for a longer duration at their “ordinary residence” and or are temporarily
absent is a major issue in providing voting facilities to migrants in their
vicinity.
7. Legal issues:
● Several
parties opposed that the EC have no “locus standi” to come up with a prototype
without the required amendments to current electoral laws.
8. Other issues:
● Enumerating
remote voters-self declaration.
● Ensuring
secrecy of voting at remote locations.
● The
familiarity of the voters with the Multi-Constituency Remote EVM and counting
of votes.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Bringing out uniform definition:
● Before
bringing out Remote EVMs to use, the government and EC needs to bring out
uniform definition to migrants and how it is going to implement the programme
in the elections.
2. Pilot project:
● The
idea is to implement RVMs as a pilot project in the upcoming Assembly elections
in nine States in 2023, and if successful, it could be fully implemented in the
2024 general elections.
3. Stakeholder consultation:
● The
EC needs to engage with various stakeholders such as political parties, experts
and migrant labors organization to ensure smooth set up and functioning of
Remote EVMs.