ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS in several states have been announced. Very soon India will go in general elections to elect its 15th Lok Sabha. In the past several elections, voting percentage has been the concern of those who want India to become a better democracy.

Higher voting percentage will indicate greater participation of citizen in the democratic process and thus enhance the strength of democracy. Thus all of us, who feel strongly about democratic traditions, must come forward and ensure greater voter turnout.
One of the problems in the way of higher voter turnout is the problem of immigrant population.

A large number of people work for central and state governments, private sector and thus have to live away from their home town where they are enrolled as voters. Some of them even get enrolled as voters in the towns where they are working but they don’t vote because they don’t feel a sense of belonging as they cannot identify with the politics and problems of that place.

Often state and central government employees working for elections outside their state are unable to vote as their names are not listed in the voters’ list. By enabling such people to vote will hike the voting percentage and subsequently create larger participation of people in the political process.

1. The system will use National Informatics Centers (NIC) as voting centers. NIC has its offices in every district of the country and it may be opened at every place which is not a district headquarters but has a good number of immigrant populations.
2. Every Person who wants to vote for her/his constituency back home will apply at NIC office in area she/he is living, with his electoral voter identity card (EPIC) and thus will be registered at the place. His/her name will be omitted from voter list to be used at election day of her/his poling booth back home.
3. As soon as final list of candidates of the particular constituency is prepared, it will be loaded on election commission website with a layout for voting.
4. Those who are registered at an NIC office will visit the same carrying their EPIC and directed to a computer where they can vote for their constituency. A copy of their EPIC and a photo taken by the web cam while using computer will be saved and loaded on the website.
5. The system will use a password created by voter to vote so as to prevent bogus voting.
6. Data of such votes will be available for the use of concerned election office back home for finalizing election results.
   Such voting can be done after list of candidates are loaded on website to the day of counting in the concerned constituency.
7. Even those who are living in their constituencies may be offered the facility of early and late voting. Such voting may be offered between the time of final list of candidates are prepared and day of counting, barring five days around the voting day. Such voting must be stopped two days ahead of voting day and those who had already voted will be marked in voter lists to be sent to polling booth and resumed once polling data of polling day reaches NIC offices.

ON JUNE 1, 14th Lok Sabha completed its four years and now we enter into election years. At a time when several political parties are gearing up for new alliances and several politicians are changing loyalties to get through the hurdles of general elections scheduled for next year, think what we are doing. Here we stands for every one who is citizen of India.

A blog has been created for awareness about our voting rights, to generate a simple thought that voting is not only our right but to use it, to use it properly is our duty.

Have you ever thought how important your vote is even if you did not choose to cast it? Just look at a possible statistics of a certain constituency

Number of candidates: Five or eight or 11 or anything
Percentage of Voting: 45 per cent
Candidate A : 32 per cent
Candidate B : 26 per cent
Candidate C : 19 per cent
And so on

You might say what is new in it? It’s the usual affair with the same candidate. ’A’ will win as ’A’ has secured more votes. Yes, its usual thing and it is the picture of almost every constituency. Now let’s take a look at statistics

Percentage of votes secured by ’A’ is 32, but it is 32 per cent of only those who went to vote. That means 32 per cent of 45 per cent of total voters, which is equal to 14.4 per cent. Let’s have a look on votes of top three candidates again

Candidate ’A’ : 32per cent of 45per cent : 14.4per cent
Candidate ’B’ : 26per cent of 45 per cent : 11.7 per cent
Candidate ’C’ : 19 per cent of 45 per cent : 08.5 per cent

Now this is the real picture. Candidate with 14 per cent votes won the election by some what good margin by defeating those who got 11.7 per cent and 8.5 per cent and so on. Now you may blame Indian voting system, which gives chance for such faults.

It’s dirty because we could not perform simplest task given to us and that too only for our well being.

Do you know where your votes go when you don’t cast? Let me tell you, with not casting votes, you passively (actually actively) support people, ideologies and works you don’t like.

It’s coming soon, the voting day is not far, one more chance to perform simplest task assigned to us is just one year ahead. Are you prepared to perform your duty? Are you prepared to do something for what you have been blaming others for years?