Flying boxes

A Sense of traditional ceremony about elections to a largely ceremonial post may not seem amiss. So, as reported in this newspaper on Friday, officials on presidential election duty carrying empty ballot boxes as hand baggage to state capitals and then bringing them, full of ballot papers, back to Delhi as co-passengers, would seem to fit in with the sense of old worldliness that wafts about the presidency. But tradition, as Ms Pratibha Patil may or may not agree, can be an enemy of progress. So, it is necessary to ask why the presidential election process hasn8217;t benefited from technological advance.

To argue that electronic voting machines are unnecessary when, as in presidential elections, the electorate is small and well-defined and the chances of rigging are almost zero, is to give into conservative traditionalists. If EVMs can be rejigged to accommodate preferential votes 8212; presidential elections allow voters to list a hierarchy of preferences 8212; ballot boxes needn8217;t be upgraded to air travellers. In fact, EVMs, which are stand-alone machines, need not be the most technologically advanced answer. Since elections are held only in a limited number of venues, in state capitals and the national capital, why not get votes recorded in a system which can electronically transfer all the data to a collection point? Thus simplified, results can perhaps be announced the same day as elections are held.

Put it this way, if we can8217;t have modern-minded presidential candidates at least let8217;s have a modernised presidential election. Also, think: what if a ballot box-passenger goes missing? The chances may be very small. The EC does a magnificent job of holding all elections. But in other elections, votes don8217;t travel large distances from election sites. Of course officials will hold on to their ballot box co-passengers with a kind of protectiveness that will shame the most paranoid parent. But it isn8217;t a zero-risk proposition. We are not being alarmist 8212; merely pointing out that there is a better way. Politicians didn8217;t listen to this argument when choosing candidates. We are sure the EC will be more receptive.