Can India implement eVoting in the Upcoming General Elections of 2024
Possibility of implementation of eVoting in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections
In this fast-moving world of advanced technology, eVoting has created a name for itself in the political atmosphere of India. The technology is completely based on the internet and can be implemented in various public or private sectors across the country.
From arranging the elections to casting votes, all of the major issues with elections can be resolved with this system of mobile voting, where elections can be managed safely with proper encryption.
This technology helps the aged people to cast their votes from their respective homes.
Apart from them, people who reside outside the state, work in a different country, or have some health condition, everyone can get benefitted from this procedure of technology-based elections.
But implementing this new technology in general elections is not a very easy process. There are certain rules and regulations that need to be checked before taking this big step.
As the general elections are just two years away, here in this article, we will be talking about the chances India has to implement online voting across the country before the big elections.
Elections in India:
India is a democratic country where every five years, a general election is conducted to elect the upcoming government. Since the beginning of this century, India has been heavily dependent on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) for conducting its elections.
Before starting the voting procedure, voting booths are placed in various localities across the country. Thousands of people get appointed to do odd election-related works.
The process goes on for months where on a specified date, voters stand in long queues in front of a specified booth to cast their votes. The entire procedure is extremely time-consuming and costs a fortune.
Apart from these issues, the safety and security of the voters are also matters to be concerned about.
The votes are manhandled and counted without any use of technology. This not only results in errors, but also the transparency of the process gets compromised.
But in the post-pandemic era, the system demands a change. The political preferences have also changed and India is in need of a new system that could help voters vote from the comfort of their own houses, without standing for hours in queues.
Here comes the idea of eVoting. With the help of eVoting, India can revolutionize the electoral system for more secure, and hassle-free elections.
Here are a few reasons why implementing online voting in the general elections of 2024 would be a good idea for the citizens of India.
More secured and private elections:
General elections have always been affected by privacy issues. From numerous fake votes to threatening the voters outside the voting booths, the system fails miserably to give full privacy and security to the voters.
With the help of online voting, all of these privacy concerns can be resolved. As the voters will vote from their own houses, the process will be completely private.
With the help of AADHAAR-based authentication, online voting provides 100% safety to the voters. It can really help the votes and the electoral bodies in the upcoming general elections.
Less time-consuming and affordable elections:
Online voting can conclude everything from setting up the election to voting to counting votes within two days. The process is simple, and it takes not more than 1 minute to vote in an online electoral system.
The counting procedure happens online, without any manhandling. It saves a lot of unnecessary costs, which were used in the case of appointing people for election duties.
People can vote from their homes so they don’t miss out on prior appointments and other important work. It can surely be beneficial for both the voters and the governments.
Online election campaigning:
This is one of the most crucial parts of any election. Parties start with their election campaigns months prior to the day of the election. With hundreds of cars and thousands of people on the road, the life of the common man becomes extremely frustrating.
Apart from that, each of these campaigns requires a good budget to continue till the day of the election. With the help of online campaigning, all these can be shifted to social media.
As people are always active on these platforms, it will be easier for the parties to reach out to the crowd.
Though there are many benefits of implementing the online election, it’s still a concept that is not known by most of the rural citizens of the country.
If the government takes the initiative to educate the masses about this system, it can be implemented with precision in the near future.
