In a first, Bihar to launch voting by mobile phones in June municipal polls

To be able to use the new facility, voters need to first download the SECBHR app and link it to their mobile number listed in the electoral rolls

Bihar will become the first state in the country to make e-voting a reality during its municipal elections scheduled to be held on 28 June, State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad said.

 

"This facility is for those unable to reach the polling station due to physical or locational reasons... like senior citizens, disabled persons, those who are pregnant and migrant voters," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

 

Six municipal councils in three districts—Patna, Rohtas and East Champaran—will go to the polls on Saturday, the report added.

   

How will it happen?

 

The e-voting process will be carried out using the mobile application “e-Voting SECBHR”, developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), and another app developed by the Bihar State Election Commission. To participate in the initiative, voters need to download the SECBHR app and link it to the mobile number listed against their name in the electoral rolls.

 

The system allows a maximum of two verified voters to log in using a single mobile number. Each vote will be authenticated against individual voter IDs for validity, NDTV reported.

 

Prasad also said that strict measures have been put in place to ensure security in the process. “The system will have features like a blockchain platform, face-matching and scanning, making the process tamper-proof,” he said.

 

He added that an audit trail had also been incorporated into the system, similar to the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) mechanism used alongside electronic voting machines.

 

Moreover, voters without a smartphone will still be able to cast their votes through the State Election Commission’s official website.

 

According to Prasad, around 10,000 voters had registered through the mobile app so far, and an estimated 50,000 more are expected to vote online without needing to visit polling booths.

 

(With inputs from NDTV.)