Letters: The SMS option

This refers to the report "SC sticks paper trail to voting machines" (October 9). While we welcome the apex court's order, is it really an economically-viable option for free and fair elections? The estimated cost for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is Rs 10,000 crore and this new provision means an addition of Rs 1,500 crore to the election budget. Moreover, it's an additional burden on the electronic voting machines that will now require more battery and paper to print the receipts. In a phased manner, if we can link the voter's cell phone to the election process, paper receipts can be substituted by an SMS acknowledging their vote. This will serve the purpose and reduce the cost considerably.

Vivek George Kerala

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