I am hoping that sooner rather than later, we might move to an Aadhar + EPIC based election. Let me put my views here.
Firstly, the Voter ID (EPIC) needs to be linked to the Aadhar. There is no reason for it not to be. Once that is done, a lot of ghost voters will disappear. Secondly, Aadhar shall be able to create the Voter ID as well (through EC), if used judiciously. As you turn 18, you get your EPIC. As you move to another place and update your Aadhar, your EPIC is transferred accordingly. People moving across cities need not miss their vote. But they will need to have their Aadhar up-to-date.
How is voting done today? As of now,
- You show your Voting Slip
- You are verified by an ID proof
- You verify and sign
- You get another slip, which you pass to the next officer,
- Get inked,
- Vote then check the VVPAT
If you use Aadhar + EPIC based voting, stages 1 to 5 can be digitalized. The new process would be:
- You scan the QR code of your AAdhar card.
- Post validating that your vote is at this booth and you have not already voted, Biometric activates.
- You use your fingerprint (Or retina) to identify yourself
- EVM activates.
- Vote & Check VVPAT. Get SMS confirmation that you voted.
As Aadhar is only a validation database and not transactional, the transactional information shall need to be maintained in the Election Commission Servers. EVM gets activated, but there is no data connectivity between the EVM and the Biometrics.
It seems to be a rather simplified version of the whole thing. But it will make booth capturing totally irrelevant. Most people manning the booths fear the goons, especially if the local police are involved. This will safeguard them as well, as they just can not influence the process any more. In fact, the total number manning (Inside) will be reduced to just one or two. It will also help save a few tons of Paper.
I do hope that this will be coming in near future.
PS: It is quite possible that these ideas have been put forward by others earlier. If so, I am not aware of them. Being a technology person, I have expressed my thoughts in this matter.
