Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Booth App : Is that V 1.0 of VotesApp ?

 


 

Context :

Booth app may be introduced in Bengal poll to weed out bogus voters 

Extract :

The Election Commission of India is likely to introduce the Booth App, within the forthcoming Bengal meeting polls in an effort to

Ø  weed out bogus voters,

Ø  keep away from duplicate voting and

Ø  provide correct particulars of the polling course of each two hours.


The functional process consists of the creation of an
encrypted QR code on the photo voter slips.

The booth-level officer scans the code and permits entry of voters whose names are listed.

The code is scanned once more to confirm the identification of the voter before permitting him/her to cast vote

 The recorded entries are then transmitted back to the EC’s central server.

The returning officer gets to view the dashboard about real-time voter turnout and various poll events


The multifunctional app can even assist in offering
advance queue data and real-time turnout data to voters and officers.


“The booth app can auto-detect duplicate entries and prevent repeat voters from entering the polling station.

Whenever there is a duplicate entry, the polling official will get a loud sound on his mobile phone,” the official added.


The Booth app is configured to connect with the central ECI server in a minimalistic means and transmits the info in an encrypted method. This helps in giving significant details about

Ø  gender-wise polling,

Ø  age-wise polling,

Ø  velocity of polling,

Ø  site visitors throughout the day and

Ø  different poll-related occasions and incidences.

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Question :

What indicates that Booth App could gradually “ evolve “ into VotesApp ?


Answer :

Election Commission seem to have taken cognizance of my following e-mail :


How about “ Sandbox for Mobile Voting “ ? ………………………..[ 27 Nov 2020 ]


Extract :

What features should be built into the “ Mobile Voting Sandbox “ ?

Ø  Central Election Commission (  CEC )  to get the Mobile App developed and oversee its working


Ø  CEC to declare ( 2 months in advance ) date of Bye Election for a given constituency


Ø  Mobile App will work on that date only and between 8am – 6pm only


Ø  On that date, at 6pm. it will self-destruct automatically, even if not used


Ø  If used, App will self-destruct immediately after transmitting the data to the Central Server of CEC


Ø  Although a voter can vote once again from his Mobile AFTER he has already voted from physical booth, it will NOT be possible to do other way around ( ie:, he cannot first vote from mobile and then go to booth for voting ).


Ø  As soon as a voter has voted from booth, EVM will immediately transmit his vote ( candidate selected ) to the Central Server of CEC


Ø  Now , if he has voted for candidate XYZ ( belonging to BJP ) in booth, then after going home , he cannot vote ( select ) candidate LMJ ( belonging to Congress ) , from his Mobile App . If he does, Server / App will not let him click “ SUBMIT “ . [  NO  DUPLICATE VOTING  ]


This is safeguard is essential to ensure that voters do not play mischief / confuse CEC, by voting for different candidates, using different voting methods 

 

Server will allow him to proceed ONLY if he selects the SAME candidate ( XYZ ) , on his Mobile App


A voter ( from the declared constituency ) can download the Mobile App ( only once ) , from the website of CEC , by filling in an online form where he will need to establish without doubt that, he is a genuine voter belonging to that particular constituency ( Voter ID – PAN – Aadhar – Sefie – Mobile No. etc ). Server will ensure that no one, other than a voter belonging to that particular constituency, will be able to download the App [ NO BOGUS VOTER ]


Ø  Voting data generated using Mobile App , shall NOT be published till the CEC declares the Winner based on EVM based voting ( no exit pole – no prejudging – no confusion – no mischief ! )


Ø  However, once the Winner is declared, data from both methods of voting will be published on CEC website ( of course , without in any way, revealing the identity of any voter )


Ø  The entire METHODOLOGY of “ Mobile Voting Sandbox “, must be widely publicized on CEC website / other Govt websites / Social Media sites / News Papers / TV channels etc., in order to establish its TRANSPARENCY / RELIABILITY among general public and among political parties.


Ø  Govt may consider inviting comments / suggestions from public on CEC portal

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 With regards.

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  10 Feb 2021

 

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