Students come up with e-voting systems

A bunch of engineering students have devised an electronic system that allows voting from mobile phones and laptops, thereby boosting polling in urban centres notoriously abstaining from voting booths.

A bunch of engineering students have devised an electronic system that allows voting from mobile phones and laptops, thereby boosting polling in urban centres notoriously abstaining from voting booths.

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The Wireless Multimode Electronic Voting – an engineering project of six final year B Tech., students from Avanthi's Research and Technological Academy in remote Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh is generating interest among public.

The technology would allow people to register, through their mobile number, with the election commission and vote from the mobile on the day of poll in response to a message they receive from the authorities. On Internet platform, voters are required to obtain a unique id and password and on the voting day cast their vote from their desk, laptops.

“The thought of such system came after reading about the low poll percentages and observation it is the educated urban class that abstain. Our system is intended to provide flexibility to such people to vote, contributing to a matured mandate,” Kari Soma Sekhar (21), project leader said.

Though the concept itself is not new, the team – Sekhar, Abhishek TS, M Mounika, KV Bhuvan, N Arun Teja and A Trimurty - has themselves devised and also exhibited the device at college events like the Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers event at Andhra University.

Prof V Ranga Rao, former Registrar of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University who guided the project said, “The kids have proved it is a fool proof system and they are eager to demonstrate it before the authorities.”

An attempt to allow e voting in Gujarat local body polls 2011, short of required awareness generation, did not meet big success. Though the election commission officials stated there is no plan or proposal to introduce mobile or e voting in the country, several parties with urban educated vote base are advocating the system.

“The effort of the kids is appreciative. With urban India growing and more people coming under the techno savvy class, the concept of electronic voting makes great sense. And there is no dearth of technology to provide safeguards. In Scandinavian countries the mode is already popular,” Jayaprakash Narayan, president, Lok Satta party, told HT.