In a consultation seeking public comments, the Election Commission of India suggested, among other things, that there be a gag on social media in the 48 hours before polls open in elections. The ECI's recommendation — which along with others is what is up for public comment — did not really mention who on social media sites should keep silent, but the law the commission cited, section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, says that "star campaigners and other Political Leaders" should maintain silence during this time. The comment period for this consultation closes on 31 March. The recommendation is one of twenty-five, all of which propose different degrees of significant changes to how elections are managed. The recommendations come from multiple working groups headed by senior officials at the ECI. The ECI did not elaborate on which working groups looked into what issues and what their membership was. Other recommendations Among the several recommendations by the ECI's working groups made public, a few stood out in their use of digital methods. Electronic voter ID: The ECI recommends that voter IDs be electronically accessible by voters. This would be akin to an e-Aadhaar, which is just as valid as the version of Aadhaar issued to enrollers by post. (IDs like PAN cards and passports are also accepted as valid ID proof when voting in India). Note that with e-KYC not allowed for Aadhaar, there remains a possibility of doing e-KYC with the voter ID. Online voting? One of the most…
