In a first for India, Bihar is set to implement Android mobile-based e-voting on June 28 for municipal by-elections for deputy chief councillor and ward councillor posts in Buxar Nagar Parishad. The entire e-voting process as part of the pilot initiative will be carried out using two mobile applications: “e-Voting SECBHR”, developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), and another app created by the Bihar State Election Commission.
What is e-voting?
The e-voting system consists of an audit trail similar to the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system used in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), while the Face Recognition System (FRS), Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for vote counting, and digital locks for EVM strongrooms are also being utilised in parallel to enhance the polling process. The system comprises features like a blockchain platform.
While speaking to Akashvani News a few days ago, State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad said 10,000 electorates have registered for e-voting and 50,000 electorates will be able to exercise their right to vote via e-voting without visiting polling booths.
He pointed out that strong digital security measures are in place and migrant labourers, migrant voters, the elderly, senior citizens, divyang voters, pregnant women, and seriously ill electorates will be able to exercise their votes using this process.
The state election commissioner said that only the European country of Estonia has executed the e-voting process.
Why has e-voting been undertaken?
The purpose to bring this process in effect is mainly for voters who go through challenges in reaching polling booths. It is likely to boost voter participation by making voting more accessible and convenient.
About Buxar Nagar Parishad election
Registration for e-voting was open until June 22, 2025. According to a Times of India report, DM Vidya Nand Singh said all preparations have been made for a transparent process. The administration has put up 136 polling stations. The e-voting window will remain open from 7 am to 1 pm on the polling day. The votes will be counted on June 30.
“The mobile application developed for this initiative ensures both confidentiality and security. Votes cast electronically will be encrypted and locked immediately, and will only be decrypted during the official counting process to maintain the integrity and secrecy of the election,” TOI quoted Singh as saying.