The Gujarat State Election Commission has implemented e-Voting for the forthcoming Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections which will take place on 19th April 2011. e-Voting has been implemented across all 11 wards of the civic body. According to a Press Release (in Gujarati) issued by Gujarat's SEC, a total of 1582 voters have registered for e-Voting, out of which 1464 voters have opted for voting from their homes or office computers, while 118 will go to e-Booths set up by the commission, to cast their votes online. Gujarat's State Election Commissioner feels that e-Voting will help citizens who have access to the internet, cast their votes online, without standing in long queues, which are a deterrent. The online voting system is being run by Tata Consultancy Services. A separate website has been made live, in addition to a toll free helpline, which has been set up to provide assistance(1800 258 2501). Last year when we reported about the State issuing a draft notification and forming a task force on on e-Voting, we had advocated the inclusion of Common Service Centers or CSCs in this initiative and stressed on the need for voter authentication. How e-Voting works: - Citizens can register online via the SEC website and choose if they intend to vote from their own PC or through an e-Booth. SEC officials will visit to verify the voter's credentials and take his signatures in physical form. - After the citizen's application gets approved, he will receive a user name and password…
