Remote voting for migrant workers: What is the plan EC has outlined

The EC has invited all recognised eight national and 57 state political parties on January 16 to demonstrate the functioning of the RVM and has asked for their written views by January 31.

The Indian Express explains the reason for this move, the EC’s proposed solution, how RVMs may work and some concerns that need to be addressed.

The problem: migration-based disenfranchisement

While registered voters do not end up voting for a variety of reasons, domestic migration is a major contributor in the Indian context.

As per the 2011 census (the numbers will have risen since then), there are nearly 45.36 crore migrants in India (both intra and inter state) – amounting to approximately 37 per cent of the country’s population. Migration can be driven by a variety of different reasons from marriage to natural disaster to employment.

According to EC’s concept note for RVMs, “voters who are absent from their home locations on the day of polling, even if they wish to vote, are unable to travel to vote due to various reasons.” This means that there is a large chunk of the population which is denied its franchise due to exigencies of work or lack of resources to travel. This goes directly against the EC’s “No voter left behind” goal.

The proposed solution: Remote EVMs

To further understand this issue, the EC had formed a “Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants”, which submitted a report in late 2016 after considering various possible solutions such as internet voting, proxy voting, early voting and postal ballots for migrant workers. However, all of these ideas were rejected due to reasons such as the lack of secrecy of the vote, the lack of sanctity of one person one vote principle, issues of accessibility for unlettered voters, etc.

Thus, a technological solution was proposed which relies on the creation of a robust electoral roll and identification mechanisms (to stop duplicate voting), and allow voters to vote remotely, in a safe and controlled environment.

The RVM was developed with the assistance of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). It is based on the currently used EVM system.

The technology: allowing voters from multiple constituency to vote using the same machine

While details of the technology will be further elaborated in EC’s January 16 demonstration, EC’s concept note gives a decent idea of what RVMs will look like.

The RVMs are “stand alone, non-networked systems,” effectively providing the voter the same experience as currently used EVMs. They will be set up in remote locations outside the state under similar conditions as current polling booths.

A diagram showing how RVMs will work (Source: The Election Commission)

The unique feature of RVMs is that a single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU) will be able to cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72) by using a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usual printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs. The Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD) will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card. A barcode scanning system will be used to read these cards.

The voting process will be as follows: 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. The voter will then vote and each vote will be stored constituency-wise in the control unit of the voting machine.

The VVPAT system is expected to work along the same lines with the new technology.

Some important questions remain

The system has issues, some of which the EC has itself acknowledged.

First, migrants are not a uniform and defined class, with fluid identities, locations and situations. In context of the transience of migration in India, the problem for the EC is to create an inclusive definition of migrants which at the same time does not open the system up to misuse. Are all migrant voters eligible? What is the duration that a migrant has to stay outside home to qualify? The EC’s statement says that resolving this issue will “require wider consultations with various legal and political stakeholders.”

Second, in the context of increasing questions being asked about technology-based voting, how do RVMs enter the conversation? As various countries reject EVMs for paper-based ballots, does this move have the potential to raise further questions on the sanctity of the electoral process itself? While the EC claims that RVMs are as secure as currently used EVMs, more technological components are bound to raise further questions.

Third, how does remote voting affect elections and campaigning? In a playing field which is far from level, remote voting can theoretically provide an added edge to bigger parties and richer candidates who can campaign across the constituency and beyond.