Mumbai: Many student voters demanded that voting should be done online via smartphones rather than standing in long queues at polling booths. They maintain this method would help eliminate discrepancies of using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and avoid any kind of cheating.
Following the campaign of digital India, students claimed they wish to cast their votes from their homes instead of waiting at polling booths. In addition, students believe the online system will eliminate problems like tampering of EVMs or people trying to cast multiple votes.
Students studying Information Technology (IT), Computer Science (CS), Data Science (DS) and Analytical Programming claimed voting can be done via a mobile application through multiple processes using advanced technology.
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Maitri Vellore, a student, said, “Instead of EVMs, we can have a mobile app where we have to login in order to cast our vote. We can create a password and the app will allow us to vote based on the symbols of political parties. It will eliminate the hassle of searching for names on the voter list at polling booths.” In order to maintain security, the entire process can be secured with a One Time Password (OTP).
Krishanu Chatterjee, an IT student, said, “Once we login to the system, we will get an OTP which will allow us to cast the vote within few seconds. And once we do it, we will not be allowed to login or vote again. In this way, the entire system will be password protected thus eliminating the offline discrepancies.”
If political parties can use social media to propagate campaigns, they can make voting digital too, claim students. Shreyas Mane, a student, said, “Twitter is full of political discussions where political parties are propagating agendas on social media platforms. If the government has shifted to the digital medium for all transactions then they should consider online voting.”
