How Automation Impacted General Elections 2019 in India

Whether it is EVMs, social media or various apps catering to the electoral process, automation plays a big role.

From the use of social media to drive campaigns to EVMs and VVPATs to ease polling, automation has a large impact on the polling process in India.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

How would you define diversity? I’d define it as the billions of people who speak thousands of languages, belong to hundreds of different cultures, stay in various geographies, and are yet united by a singular feeling: India. And this feeling makes itself more prevalent every five years or so, during the Lok Sabha elections.

Since more than seven decades of our independence, the election process has changed through the years. Why even go all the way back? Even if we compare these elections to the ones held in 2009, the difference is observable.

Think of politics a few years back. I bet some of the first things that come to mind will include politicians campaigning door to door, giving speeches at large open grounds, ballot boxes, paper polls and ink stamps.

Now, think of the last elections. Twitter campaigning rings a bell, doesn’t it? Psephologists will bear witness to the fact that tech has made its mark in the way elections have been conducted in the recent past.

Automation ensures a much more streamlined polling process, diffusing many critical challenges along the way.

This time, more than 1 million digital polling booths were set up across the country. The use of EVM machines as compared to ballot boxes is equivalent to reduced manpower and manual effort, as votes can be counted digitally, decreasing counting time from months to days. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

VVPAT machines are another blessing. They allow the public to view the symbol for the candidate of their choice after pressing the buttons on the EVM, enabling illiterate people to ensure they made the correct choice.

Booth capturing has lost most of its power to technology this time, as software usage is equivalent to less forgery and lesser chances of corruption. Digital voting cards can also be printed conveniently, without name errors etc. Linking this to Aadhaar further maintains the integrity of the process.

The database of the polling personnel is maintained separately and randomised through a software developed by the National Informatics Centre. This conceals their identities, avoiding any intimidation or unnecessary inducement.

That’s not it. People now have easy access to live streams being broadcast from the polling centres, thanks to the rising number of smartphones and infiltration of IoT into our daily lives.

Better connectivity means more use of digital and social media, something that parties today have championed. More people have tuned into the PM’s twitter conversations than his addresses on news channels.

The rising number of followers on his digital profile is testament. The Digital Sathi app by the Congress that coordinates digital and social campaigns with their volunteers has caught the public’s attention too.

The ECI, though, has taken the cake this time. Their Voter Turnout app focuses on increasing awareness about the polling process throughout the country, and also acts as an instructional guide that answers people’s queries in real time. It captures the information gathered by returning officers, and also helps them track voter turnout in different constituencies.

Initiatives like the Samadhan, a single integrated web portal for individuals to submit their grievances have also been launched. This is accessible through smartphones, and all EROs, DEO and ECI officials are connected to this. Every complaint launched directly reaches the concerned authorities, so that corrective action can be taken immediately.

The CVigil app functions on the same lines, and has already been used extensively in Odisha and the North East. An Android game called Mx Democracy also explains the voter registration process, mode of conduct, ballot preparation etc. Way to go digital, ECI!

On paper, these initiatives paint a rosy picture, but having access to modern technology does not necessarily mean that we use it to our benefit all the time. It’ll be impossible to campaign in today’s political scenario without having a digital presence.

Like I said before, almost all major leaders have taken to social channels of communication. While that shows how much we have progressed, in the recent past, it has also given rise to viral content and fake news.

WhatsApp alone has more than 200 million users, and local leaders have successfully mobilised a socio-political identity through the platform.

With fake news being propagated more than 40 percent times the usual during the elections, Twitter has taken active steps to reduce its dissemination. This is where automation comes into the picture again. Powered by AI driven algorithms, the platform removed close to 1 million accounts every day. Simple gateways like captcha and password resets have been secured through its Original tweeter tags.

Technology can be as big a nuisance for the masses as it is a boon. It all depends on how you choose to utilise it. Thus, it is only fair that the people managing its use be very careful about the final implementation. Or else, in the quest to evolve, we may end up taking two steps backwards instead of moving a step ahead in the right direction. Pretty huge responsibility to shoulder, don’t you think?

(The author is co-founder iauro Systems. The views are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)