The prototype remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for migrant voters will be shown to political party representatives by the Election Commission (EC). For a demonstration on Monday morning, the poll panel has invited eight recognized national parties and 57 recognized state parties.
A discussion on improving voter participation among domestic migrants using remote voting is mentioned in the letter. Members of the EC’s Technical Expert Committee will also be present during the remote EVM demonstration. The poll panel had also issued a technology concept note and invited parties to the prototype demonstration.
Additionally, parties were required to submit written responses by the end of January regarding issues such as the necessary law modifications to permit the use of RVM. Migrant voters will not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise if it is implemented following consultations with stakeholders.
Election Commission officials had previously stated that RVMs will be developed as a robust, failproof, and efficient stand-alone system based on existing electronic voting machines and will not be connected to the internet, describing the counting of votes cast at remote booths as a technological challenge.
Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), a public sector company, created the multi-constituency remote EVM, which can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth. The EVMs are made by ECIL and Bharat Electronics Ltd.
The RVM is a modified version of the tried-and-true M3 (Mark 3) EVM that allows domestic migrants to vote at remote polling stations, including polling stations outside of their home constituency. The Election Commission had stated last month that the initiative, if implemented, could result in a social transformation for migrants.
