Election Commission of India readies pilot project to facilitate remote voting for migrant workers

With the objective of finding a technological solution which is credible, accessible and acceptable to all stakeholders, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel has now explored the option of using a modified version of the time-tested model of M3 EVMs to enable voting at remote polling stations i.e., polling stations outside home constituency, for domestic migrants. The migrant voter would thus need not travel back to his/her home district to exercise his/her franchise of voting.

A concept note has been circulated amongst political parties highlighting the challenges of defining domestic migrants, implementation of Model Code of Conduct, ensuring secrecy of voting, facility of polling agents for identification of voters, process and method of remote voting and counting of votes amongst other issues.
The Commission in association with a renowned Public Sector Undertaking is now ready to pilot a Multi Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) for facilitating participation of domestic migrants from their remote locations itself i.e., the places of their current residence for purposes of education/employment, etc., for voting for their home constituencies. 

This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth. The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences, not enough social and emotional connect with the issues of area of migration, unwillingness to get their name deleted in electoral roll of their home/native constituencies as they have permanent residence/property. 

The Commission has scheduled a demonstration of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM on January 16, 2023 with all 08 recognised national and 57 recognised state political parties. Members of the Technical Expert Committee will also be in attendance. The Commission has also asked recognised political parties for their written opinions by January 31, 2023, on a variety of related topics, including any necessary legislative modifications, administrative procedure changes, and voting method, RVM, or technology adjustments for domestic migrants.

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