Software to vote from home ready

Despite being touted as the world’s largest democracy, successfully conducting elections since 1952, 100 per cent voter turnout remains a distant dream. In the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, the voter turnout was only 61 per cent while it was 68 per cent in Haryana. The voter turnout was 61 per cent in the first parliamentary elections in 1952. On an average, voter turnout in elections has bordered around 60 per cent. In the 2009 parliamentary elections in Bihar, only 46 per cent voted, which means over 50 per cent of the voters did not turn up.

 

Despite efforts by the Election Commission of India, which encourages people to vote through numerous campaigns involving celebrity actors and NGOs and organisations like the Indian Oil Corporation that gave a 50 paise discount per litre of fuel for customers who showed the indelible ink mark on their fingers, there was no big change in the voter turnout. The large number of those who did not turn up include people who do not find place in the voter list and those who could not get the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC).

Between 8 and 10 per cent of voters find their names missing on the voters’ list. This may be due to change of address of the voter, negligence by government employees, unexpected natural disaster or loss of the EPIC in an accident.  There are instances of deliberate omission of voters’ names too. The question arises as to whether the elected representatives of the constituency won the mandate of the entire community. P Elanthirumaran, founder, Voters Association of India, who has done extensive research on this topic, says this is the trend in the parliamentary, assembly and local body polls. (See graphic)

Why are names missed out?

“I have been to several countries. I have never encountered this problem anywhere other than India. Those who did not turn up for voting are there everywhere. The ECI doesn’t have exclusive staff for election duty purposes; it depends for its work on employees of government offices, the Corporation and the local body. It becomes an additional burden for the employees, resulting in scope for gross mistakes and negligence. Some are fed up while some are indifferent to it. Only political parties try hard to bring people from the lower strata of society into the list but turn a blind eye towards the middle and upper classes", he says.

People who work outside the country have just been provided the opportunity to register their names online. But so far, not more the 500 Non Resident Indians (NRIs) have shown interest. There are around 7 to 8 per cent NRIs. But those who travel to India on an election day only to vote are just one in a lakh.

The well educated, high income earning individuals and people of the upper classes do not show interest in either visiting the polling booth or standing in queues to cast their votes. They believe they can make those who win the election work to their advantage, he says.

In many instances, the voting list has names of people who have either left the city or are dead and gone. So voting percentage appears to be low, but names of several people included in the list are not actual voters, due to lack of updation, political analysts said.

How to convince voters to cast their votes?

Elanthirumaran has developed a software to help those who live and work away from their hometown, those who are under treatment in hospitals, those who prepare for examinations, senior citizens and those who hesitate to visit booths because of shyness and fear. “The software enables one to cast his or her vote online. It will prevent counterfeit votes and protect voters’ individual freedom. I met the then Chief Election Commissioner, S Y Quraishi, and explained the salient features of the software. The software cannot be hacked or tampered with. It is foolproof,” he says.

 

 “I have helped conduct several elections on a small scale for the past two years. Several private organisations, colleges, labour unions and associations have used this software. I have successfully and peacefully conducted those elections. We have conducted similar elections using this software in several countries including the US, Australia, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Lebanon. So far, our biggest has been an election where 37,000 people cast their votes using our software. I am willing to help if the government is interested,” he says.