Now, click on cellphone to cast vote

Citizens will no longer have to queue up at polling booths to cast their votes. If the Maharashtra State Election Commission (MSEC) has its way then exercising one’s right to franchise would be just a
click away.

Gripped with low-voter turnout at every election, the MSEC has given its nod to introduce e-voting across the state. In a first-of-its-kind attempt, the next-in-line Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will not only have Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as ballot but also cellphones and computers.

The move aims to target senior citizens, the differently abled ones, youth and the affluent strata of society. “The e-voting is targeted categorically at the urban crowd. Voter turnout in rural areas is around 85%, while in urban areas it stands at an abysmal low of 35% to 50%. This trend can be overhauled by roping in technology during elections,” said Chand Goyal, additional chief secretary.

The Kalyan-Dombivli corporation went in for polls on October 31 and despite huge campaigning, only 40% turned up to cast their votes. Officials blame ill-equipped polling booths for the meagre response. Thus a tech-savvy move is bound to boost the electoral rate, Goyal pointed out.

A four-member committee has been formed to chalk out the modalities of the e-voting system. additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta, commissioner of Kalyan-Dombivli corporation Ramnath Sonawane, cyber expert Vijay Mukhi and commissioner of Kolhapur municipal corporation Vijay Singhal will spearhead the modus operandi of the e-voting system.

Officials claim that the e-voting software will be in place by 2011-end. A total 167 municipal councils will go to polls during November 2011, while elections in 14 municipal corporation and 28 councils will be held in February 2012. The BMC is one of the corporations where the new system will be launched.

Assessing the technicality of launching the pilot project on a large scale, mock trials would be conducted in select districts of the state.

“Steps are being taken to avoid loopholes. The security aspect is being taken care of so that the system is immune to hacking. Identification of each who casts vote online or through a cellphone will be monitored by a four-tier system,” Goyal added.

Meanwhile, a third party auditor will also be roped in to monitor the polls online. Also, a week prior to the cut-off dates of the elections, separate registration centres for e-voting would be put in order.

E-voting system is functional in Canada, Australia, Belgium and other European states. Besides, it is also being practiced in Gujarat. Steps to acquire the e-voting software are underway.

Officials added that tenders and quotations from system providers will be floated soon.