Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM)

Election Commission (EC) has developed a prototype of a remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for domestic migrant voters.

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In News: Election Commission (EC) has developed a prototype of a remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for domestic migrant voters.

Need for Remote Voting

Stagnation in voter turnout: About 30 crore electors were not exercising their franchise, apart from differential voter turnout in different states and UTs.
Migration-based disenfranchisement: As per the 2011 census, there are nearly 45.36 crore migrants in India– amounting to approximately 37 per cent of the country’s population.
Against EC’s “No voter left behind” goal: Large population is denied its franchise due to exigencies of work or lack of resources to travel.

Aim: Improve voter turnout and ensure the participation of migrants in elections.
It will use a Multi-Constituency RVM for migrant voting, i.e it would cater to voters from multiple constituencies of a state.
It is developed by a public sector undertaking: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
It can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
It will have the same security system and voting experience as the EVM.

It is a standalone, non-networked system having the same security features as the existing Indian EVMs and provides the same voting experience to the voter as the EVM.
The RVM system is essentially a modified version of the existing EVM system.
A single Ballot Unit (BU) can cater to multiple AC/ PCs at a single polling station by using a dynamic ballot display instead of the usually printed paper ballot sheet on BU.

The voter should pre-register for the remote voting facility by applying online/offline within a pre-notified time, before elections in his/her home constituency commence.
Voter details will be verified at the home constituency and the voter’s request for remote voting will be approved after successful verification by marking him/her as a remote voter to participate in elections.
Special multi-constituency remote voting polling stations will be set up in the places of the voter’s current residence.

Increasing voters’ participation: It will enable a voter, who is listed in constituencies, to exercise voting rights from a single machine.
Ease of Voting: Migrant voters need not travel to their home district to exercise their voting rights.
Vibrant Democracy: It will enable approximately 30 crore electors, currently not exercising their franchise, to vote.
Safety and Security: Remote e-voting machine will be a standalone device which doesn’t need connectivity to operate.

Inclusive definition of migrants: Migrants are not a uniform and defined class, with fluid identities, locations and situations.
Trust Issue: Various countries have already rejected EVMs for paper-based ballots.
Hacking Probability: RVMs with more technological components are bound to raise further questions.
Lack of Level Playing Field: Remote voting can theoretically provide an added edge to bigger parties and richer candidates who can campaign across the constituency and beyond.
Model Code of Conduct: There is no clarity about how Model Code of Conduct will be implemented in the remote constituencies.

They are used to cast vote without revealing identity.
They replaced paper ballots in local, state and general (parliamentary) elections in India.
Indian EVMs are standalone (not connected to the internet) and have a one-time programmable chip, making tampering through the hardware port or through a Wi-Fi connection impossible.
Voter Verified Paper Trail Audit (VVPAT) machine: To help verify that the EVM had recorded the vote correctly as intended by the voter.