Vote from home: Bihar becomes first state to facilitate voting via mobiles

Ahead of the Assembly elections, Bihar becomes the first state in the country to allow voting with a mobile phone, State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad said on Friday (June 27) evening.

E-voting for the municipal elections is being conducted through mobile for the first time in Bihar on Saturday (June 28) for six councils in Patna, Rohtas and East Champaran district.

However, it is not yet clear whether the same system will be adopted for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

Also Read: Discussion: EC's Bihar voter revision sparks disenfranchisement fears

Vote from home

The Election Commissioner said the vote-by-mobile facility will be available to those who are unable to go to the polling booth to cast their votes.

He said the voters must have an app installed on their phone to be able to cast vote online.

The official said this facility can be used by senior citizens, differently abled people, pregnant women and migrant voters.

The Election Commission had also run an awareness campaign in this regard from June 10 to 22.

How to register for e-voting?

Voters who wish to register for e-voting must download the e-SECBHR mobile application on their phone and link it to the phone number that they used to register their name on the electoral roll.

Once the connection is ensured, voters will be able to vote on the official site or through the app on polling day.

This process aims to be easy enough so that even a first-time user has no issue voting.

Starting with the municipal elections, mobile-based voter access is taking place for the first time. Officials say the progress on the pilot project will inform future use of the voting process.

Also Read: EC: 'Malicious narratives' being spread using our video footage

Indigenous technology

Reports suggest that this app is currently compatible only with Android phones. Those without mobile phones can also vote on the State Election Commission's website.

Prasad said the app was created by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), and another app was made by the Bihar State Election Commission.

The state poll body chief said that an estimated 10,000 voters had already signed up for this initiative, and another 50,000 are expected to cast votes without visiting polling booths, i.e., via the website.

Also Read: Bihar polls: Rift between Nitish and BJP over CM candidate?

Fool-proof and transparent process

To keep the voting process fair and transparent, only two registered voters are allowed to log in using one mobile number. The validity of every vote will be cross-checked against individual IDs.

When asked how the voting process would remain safe and fair, Prasad said that strong digital security measures that have been put in place.

“The system will include features like blockchain technology, face matching, and scanning to make sure it can’t be tampered with," he explained.

He also added that there would be an audit trail — similar to the VVPAT (voter verified paper audit trail) used with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections — to keep a record of the votes.