EC to demonstrate remote voting machine to parties on January 16

The Election Commission will showcase the remote electronic voting machine (RVM) prototype for migrant voters to representatives of political parties on Monday.

The poll panel has invited eight recognised national parties and 57 recognised state parties for a demonstration on Monday morning.

The letter states that they have been invited for a "discussion on improving voter participation of domestic migrants using remote voting."

During the demonstration of the remote EVM, members of EC's Technical Expert Committee will also be present.

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While inviting parties for the demonstration of the prototype, the poll panel had also issued a concept note on the technology.

Parties were also asked to give in writing their views by end of January on issues such as changes required on the law to allow use of RVM.

If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise.

Terming counting of votes cast at remote booths and their transmission to the returning officer in other states as a "technological challenge", Election Commission officials had earlier said 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.

The multi-constituency remote EVM, developed by public sector undertaking Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth.

ECIL and Bharat Electronics Ltd are the two PSUs manufacturing the EVMs.

The RVM is a modified version of the time-tested model of M3 (Mark 3) EVMs to enable voting at remote polling stations -- polling stations outside home constituency, for domestic migrants.

The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a "social transformation" for migrants, the EC had said last month.