EC to do away with in-person verification
NEW DELHI: Voters will find it easier to register themselves as the Election Commission of India is planning to make changes in the process, eliminating the need for in-person verifications, said people familiar with the development.
Electors will be allowed to file documents online, which will be then verified by the electoral watchdog. “Five or six core documents will be declared, and if voters agree to share those online, then there will be no need for booth-level worker verification,” one of the people said.
The Commission is also planning changes to several forms that are used to register voters, including form six, seven and eight. “There is a form 8A, which may be discarded completely,” the person said, requesting anonymity. Form 8A is used for electors who want to transfer their voter ID card from one location to another. The Commission is planing a separate process to shift voter ID card to a different state.
The Commission is also working on a remote voting system, where people will be allowed to vote from a different state in case they can’t make it in time for the polls. A prototype of the system has already been seen by the Commission, but a final call on its viability will be taken only after consultation with political parties.
The move to remove boothlevel verification would be revolutionary, according to former chief election commissioner VS Sampath. “It will be a good move, as it will streamline the process more,” he said. “There are many times when one person is at home and the other isn’t. That makes it difficult for people to verify their identity in-person.”
The Commission will continue its usual voter registration process, but an alternative will be provided for people to hasten the process. “It’s voluntary for people who want to get their voter ID cards sooner,” the person said.
Addressing concerns regarding the storing of data, a second person said that the Commission has been handling personal data for sometime now. “The data will be secure,” the person said, declining to be named.
Elections in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are due next year.
The changes are a part of a slew of electoral reforms. The Commission met law minister Kiren Rijiju in August to discuss the reforms, which include linking Aadhaar unique identity numbers to voter ID cards, and providing multiple registration dates for voters.
“The law minister was briefed on several of the reforms that are pending with the ministry,” a person said on the condition of anonymity. “Once the amendments are drafted, they will hopefully be introduced in the winter session of Parliament,” HT reported in August. The Commission, comprising of chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and election commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey, has been pushing for the reforms. Chandra wrote to the law ministry in May to “expedite them”.
The Election Commission of India is pushing for at least five key electoral reforms, including making paid news an electoral offence, linking Aadhaar numbers to the electoral roll , and increasing the punishment for filing a false affidavit to two years of imprisonment, and has written to the government in this regard, HT reported on June 8.There are nearly 40 proposals pending with the law ministry.
The Commission has been considering a wide range of electoral reforms to usher in digitisation, removing duplication of voters, and enabling remote voting for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and even migrant workers within the country.