Will the Migrants be Able to Vote Remotely
Introduction:
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently announced that it was prepared to test remote electronic voting equipment to eliminate the need for domestic migrants to travel back to their home State or district to cast their ballots (RVMs). In January 2023, the EC will provide a prototype of RVM to political parties and solicits their feedback.
How important is the vote from immigrants?
- The European Commission (EC) has identified remote voting as being complicated by the lack of a centralised database for migrants in a concept note. The EC did agree that “in the age of technological innovation, disenfranchisement based on migration is actually not an option.”
- 47 percent of India’s population, or 45.36 crore individuals, are internal migrants, meaning they migrated somewhere other than where they were legally permitted to live.
- Despite 67.4% of the eligible 91.2 crore Indians voting, the Election Commission (EC) reports that around 30 crore voters did not cast votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, raising concerns about a stagnant electoral participation rate.
- “Voter inability due to internal movement (domestic migrants) is one of the main concerns to be addressed to increase voter turnout and ensure participatory elections,” the EC declared.
RVMs should heed EC’s counsel:
- In 2015, the Supreme Court ordered the EC to look into the possibility of remote voting in response to a petition demanding to permit domestic migrants to vote. Although the poll panel’s committee looked into distant voting options like early voting, proxy voting, postal ballots, and Internet voting, they ultimately opted against recommending any of them for a number of reasons.
- The Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), a modified version of the current EVM architecture, has been developed by the ECI as a prototype for migrant voting.
- According to the EC, the RVM may manage up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling place. The voter must register (online or offline) with the appropriate Returning Officer (RO) of their home constituency within the pre-notified time for a remote voting option.
- A multi-constituency remote polling station will be established in the vicinity of a voter’s current residence once their eligibility has been confirmed and they have been given the go-ahead for distant voting. The security system and voting process for RVMs and EVMs are identical; the main difference is that RVMs will use an electronic ballot display with candidates and symbols rather than a fixed ballot paper sheet. A voter’s matching constituency and candidate list will appear on the RVM display when they scan their constituency card in front of the presiding officer at the station. The automated system will count and record the votes for each candidate in a constituency as well as the total votes.
NRIs voting remotely:
- Due to the approximately 1.35 crore non-resident Indians who are dispersed throughout the world, India has the largest diaspora population. Even though India revised the Representation of the People Act in 2010 to allow qualified NRIs who have been overseas for longer than six months to vote, the requirement that they physically visit the polling station is a major factor in the low proportion of NRI registration and voting.
- The petitioners contend that NRIs shouldn’t be denied the right to vote because they exercised their freedom to freely practise a profession or trade, despite the worries of some observers who wonder why people who emigrated abroad should be given special voting privileges.
- Another issue that has been brought up is whether people who have lived overseas for a significant amount of time, say more than two years, should be allowed to vote. As long as they are not gone for a certain amount of time or indicate a “intend to return,” international voters in several countries are permitted to cast absentee ballots.
Governmental initiatives:
- As instructed by the Court, ECI established a Committee in 2014 to investigate the alternatives for overseas voters. Only email ballots and proxy votes were accepted as forms of remote voting by the committee.
- The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) mandates that NRI voters submit an application in person or online to the returning officer. The ballot will be electronically transmitted by the returning officer.
- The voter can mark the printed ballot after making their selection and mail it back along with an authorised declaration. The ballot will either be mailed to the voter by ordinary mail or left at an Indian embassy to be separated and posted. Voters can elect proxies to cast their ballots on their behalf through the proxy voting method.
- Currently, only service voters, such as those enlisted in the military forces or engaged in diplomatic missions overseas, are permitted to use ETPBS and proxy voting. Proxy voting would be a “convenient” and “doable” option, according to the ECI.
Change implementation roadblocks:
- Numerous opposing parties have already voiced their worries. Because the proposed remote voting technology could “seriously undermine the credibility in the electoral system,” Congress has requested the EC to first restore voter confidence by “transparency and via honest engagement with the Opposition’s concerns.” The party emphasised that worries about EVM exploitation had not been “systematically addressed.”
The EC itself has identified a number of procedural concerns that require stakeholder input, including:
- How to locate a voter who changed addresses but kept their registration at their old place of residence.
- No matter if a voter is momentarily absent or away from their “usual residence” for an extended period of time, equitable voter representation will be provided by including remote voting into the electoral concept of territorial districts or areas that are clearly established in States.
- putting the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) into practise, allocating poll workers to far-flung polling places, etc. in rural areas to ensure voting privacy.
Moving ahead:
- The Hindu reports that the goal is to evaluate RVMs during the impending 2023 Assembly elections in nine States. If it is a success, it might be fully implemented in the general elections of 2024.
- Whether remote voting for migrants actually occurs will depend on the potential for modifying election regulations and on current discussions with parties.
