Context :
PM
pushes for simultaneous polls
/ Business Line – 27 Nov 2020
Extract :
One nation-one election
is the need of the hour, says PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday once again pushed for one nation-one election
and suggested that the Election Commission prepares a single
voters’ list for the Lok Sabha, Assembly and Panchayat polls because separate
lists are a “waste of resources”.
‘Need of the hour’
Addressing the concluding session of All India Presiding
Officers Conference, Modi called for simultaneous elections and common voters’ list at
every level — from Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas to the local Panchayats.
He said digital innovations in the fields of legislatures should be taken up in real
earnest for this.
“One nation-one election is not just a matter of debate, it is
the need of the hour.
Elections are held at different places every few months. The effect it has on
development work is known to all. The issue needs to be studied and presiding
officers can the guiding force for it,” said the PM.
Administration support
The issue of simultaneous elections has been flagged on many
occasions by the PM himself. It gained traction after the NITI Aayog prepared a
working paper on the subject in January, 2017.
The Election Commission too has been largely supportive of the
view and the discussions have been around synchronising assembly polls where
the schedules overlap or are in proximity.
However, the Opposition is against this view.
===================================================
Dear Shri
Narendrabhai,
Indian voters have been happily using electronic EVM for voting for many years now – without complaint. Nothing parallel exists anywhere in
the World. We pioneered this process ( compare with what just happened in USA )
Even those few political parties which, at first, refused
to accept EVM, have now no complaint about their efficacy
If we can convince the opposition that
Mobile-based voting
is,
Ø Totally
reliable and
Ø The
process cannot be tampered with,
then there is a good chance that they
will accept a Mobile-based Voting – which will
pave the way for
“ One Nation One Poll / Simultaneous Elections “
To convince the opposition what we need to do is a small trial – a small
experiment – in a small bye-election – in a small constituency – having a small
number of voters
An experiment where both of the following “
voting methods “ will be employed simultaneously :
Ø Physical
EVM based voting in a physical booth ( marking with indelible ink )
Ø Mobile
App based voting from voter’s home ( using biometric IDs of finger – iris- facial
recognition of Selfie )
Voters will have following options :
Ø Only
vote from a polling booth
Ø Only
vote from home , using Mobile App
Ø Use
both methods , physical voting in booth, followed by Mobile voting from
home
Basis for declaring the Winner :
Ø Only votes polled at physical booth will be considered for declaration of Winner
This assurance will get us the “ Buy-in “ of the Opposition to this experiment
Then, what is the purpose of Mobile-based voting ?
Ø It
will enable us to compare the “ votes polled “ under each method
Ø This
analysis will tell us how many voters ( but not “Who “) , voted using which
method
Ø Time-series
will tell us which method was used ( preferred ) at what time of the day
Ø Did
Mobile based votes were a result of people who otherwise could not have voted (
Lost Votes ) ,
being many kilometers away from their designated polling booth ?
Ø If
number of voters who used mobile was TWICE / THRICE the number of those who
went to polling booth, then can we conclude that
people hate trudging down to polling booth and spend hours standing in a queue
?
Ø Do
the Winner come out to be the same candidate, under both voting methods ? If
yes, very assuring !
How will we know if Voters who used Mobiles
were not coerced /
influenced by party workers ?
Ø NaviC
based GPS will tell us where precisely that mobile phone was exactly when vote
was cast
Ø It
will also tell us ( Heat
Map ? ) whether many other mobile phones were nearby at that moment (
eg: local office of political parties )
How can we conduct such a small-scale experiment
, without disturbing EVM-based voting ?
Ø By
creating ( what I call ) a “ Mobile Voting Sandbox “
Any current example of such a controlled “ Experimental set-up “ to gather evidence of efficacy of a method
?
Ø Yes.
The National Digital Health Mission has created such a SANDBOX
How does it work ?
Ø Read
: Accelerating
Digital Health Innovation / Eco Times – 26 Nov 2020
Extract :
# NDHM has
created a “sandbox
“that enables technologies or products to be tested in
a contained environment
and duration –
subject to NDHM standards and oversight – and judge the
consumer and market reactions to the
same
# The sandbox will facilitate integration of current systems and IT
platforms in healthcare with NDHM building
blocks namely , Health ID, Doctors’ and Health
Facility Registries, and Patient Health Records
# At its core,
the sandbox has
been created with the objective to foster RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION in Health
Tech Services, promote efficiency and bring
benefit to consumers
# The sandbox brings together
healthcare and health tech service providers, centrally and state run public
health
programmes , software providers, healthcare
aggregators, tech companies to TEST and INTEGRATE their
products and services with NDHM
# The NDHM sandbox is founded on the
idea that the government, private sector and citizen need to work
together as partner to solve the problem of
healthcare. It will enable “ learning by doing “ on all sides
===================================================
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 “ .
This is safeguard
is essential to ensure that voters do not play mischief / confuse CEC,
by voting for
Ø 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
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
Any suggestion re: conceptual frame-work for
such a Mobile App ?
Ø Yes.
Please refer to my following email :
VotesApp
[ 18 Dec 2012 ]
Have I followed this up with other e-mails ?
Ø Sure.
Keep clicking on :
2020
# First Step to VotesApp ? [24 Jan 2020 ]
# Slow and Steady ? Way Democracy Works [ 12 Mar 2020 ]
# Analysis Needed : Paralysis Avoided…………………[13 Sept 2020 ]
# 408
Km vertical distance OK ? …………………………[ 01 Nov 2020 ]
2019
# VVPAT ? How about EVBAT ? [ 28 Mar 2019 ]
# Dark Side of Democracy
[ 08 Jan 2019 ]
2018
# Americans call it “ Voatz “ [ 13 Aug 2018 ]
# Where is the need ? [ 05 Apr 2018 ]
# Block Chain for Voting ? [ 11 Mar 2018 ]
# Thank You, Shri Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay [ 19 Feb 2018 ]
# Simultaneous Polling [ 22 Jan 2018 ]
2017
# Poll Reforms : Time for a Consensus [ 21 Aug 2017 ]
# A Blue Print for VotesApp ? [ 25 Apr 2017 ]
# Electoral Reforms Capsule : A Bitter Pill ? [ 05 Feb 2017 ]
2016
# Reforming Elections and Lok Sabha [ 20 Dec 2016 ]
# One Nation , One Vote ? [ 29 Nov 2016 ]
# Filtering Candidate Information ? [18
Sept 2016 ]
# One Poll , One Time [ 06 Sept 2016 ]
# Advantage Incumbent ?
[ 05
Sept 2016 ]
# ROMP : A Panacea ?
[ 06 Aug 2016 ]
# The Greatest Reform ?
[ 12 June 2016 ]
# One Day Polling is possible
[31 Mar 2016 ]
2015
# How to Save Rs 5511
crore ?
[12
Dec 2015 ]
# Honey ! I shrunk the EVM
[21 Oct
2015 ]
2014
# All Seasons are
Election Seasons [ 22 May 2014 ]
# A Software Powerhouse ? [ 24 Apr 2014 ]
# Sun Never Sets
[ 01 Apr 2014 ]
=================================================
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
/ hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 27 Nov 2020