Election Commission considers proposal for digitisation of voter ids

The proposal will have to be approved by the chief election commissioner, Sunil Arora, and election commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar before it is implemented.

The Election Commission of India is considering a proposal to digitise voter id cards and do away with hardcopies, people familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

The Elector’s Photo Identity Card is presently available in form of a hardcopy and may now be available as a PDF. (PTO FILE)

The digitisation process of the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) could begin before the next round of assembly elections to be held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, which are due before May next year.

The EPIC is presently available in form of a hardcopy and may now be available as a PDF file. The modalities of how the scheme will work are still being finalised, the people said, requesting anonymity.

The digitisation of the card will help do away with printing costs. The proposal will have to be approved by the chief election commissioner, Sunil Arora, and election commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar before it is implemented.

There are nearly 911 million eligible voters registered with the Commission, according to 2019 data.