Bihar: In a first-of-its-kind trial in India, the Bihar State Election Commission has introduced mobile app-based voting for municipal elections across six councils in Patna, Rohtas, and East Champaran. The e-voting was conducted on June 28 as part of a pilot program aimed at testing the feasibility of remote voting through smartphones.
The initiative is intended to facilitate electoral access for specific groups such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, and migrant workers, many of whom face challenges in reaching physical polling stations. Around 10,000 voters had registered for the trial through the newly developed e-SECBHR Android app, with officials estimating participation from up to 50,000 voters.
The app allowed eligible voters to register using their Aadhaar-linked mobile number and cast their vote either through the app or the State Election Commission’s website on election day. Each mobile number could register only two voters, and each vote was cross verified using official voter ID records to minimise fraud.
To ensure vote security and system transparency, the platform uses blockchain technology to log votes immutably. Voter identity is confirmed at login through facial recognition, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is used during the vote-counting process.
Audit trails in the system are designed to mirror the function of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) systems used in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Digital locks secure EVM storage and voter data. According to State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad, multiple digital safeguards have been embedded to ensure that vulnerable voter segments can securely cast their votes.
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