Remote voting machine prototype developed by ECI: Why India needs Remote Voting Machines

New Delhi, Dec 30: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has devalued the prototype for the Remote Electronic Voting Machine which will facilitate voting for domestic migrants across India.

On January 16, the ECI would conduct a demonstration of the machines for all political parties.

The ECI said that if the prototype satisfies the stakeholders, domestic migrant workers will not have to travel to their hometown to register their votes.

ECI officials said that the RVMs will be developed as a failproof, robust and an efficient stand-alone system based on the existing voting machines. It would not be connected to the internet, the ECI also said.

The ECI is undertaking this major move to increase the voter participation. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said that after focus on youth and urban apathy, remote voting will be a transformational initiative for strengthening participation in electoral democracy.

Kumar also added that many times migrants are reluctant to get themselves to get enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as changing residences, not enough social and emotional connect with the issues of area of migration, unwillingness to get their name deleted in electoral rolls of their home or native constitutes as they have permanent residence of property.

What you should know about the Remote Voting Machine:

The multi-constituency remote EVM will be developed by a public sector undertaking. It can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth, an ECI statement read.

The statement also added that the ECI has now explored the option of using a modified version of the time-tested model of M3 (Mark 3) EVMs to enable voting at remote polling stations -- polling stations outside home constituency, for domestic migrants.

The poll watchdog also said that it has invited all eight recognised national parties and 57 state political parties on January 16 to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype RVM. During the demonstration members of the ECI's Technical Expert Committee will also be present.

The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951, The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will need to be amended to introduce remote voting, read the statement.

Further it said that the method of remote voting, familiarity of voters and the RVM technology, counting of votes cast at remote booths and their transition to the returning officer located in other states also needs deliberations.

The need for RVMs:

Out-migration is predominant among the rural population in overall domestic migration and around 85 per cent of the internal migration is within the states the commission said.

There is no central data-base available for migration within the country. The analysis of the available data in the public domain points to work, marriage and education related migration are important components of domestic migration.

The ECI statement also said, "soon after assuming office as CEC, Kumar's learning of domestic migration issues first hand from his trek to Dumak village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district focused his attention on enabling the migrant voters to exercise their franchise from their current place of residence."