Well, it was not totally hi-tech, only partially. It could have been totally hi-tech, if it had been possible to vote online. Hope that will happen in near future.
Never had a Voter ID Card (EPIC) in my native place, in West Bengal. Never voted there. First time I voted was in last year - in MLC elections - for the seat of Bangalore Graduates' Constituency. Came to know about such a constituency another 5 years back, from a colleague. In 2011, visited our local BBMP office and had registered my name there, showing address proof and proof of being a graduate. Though the candidates sent campaigning communications via post that time, the voting process was of older style. There was no electronic voting machine (EVM) there and the voter was supposed to mark for 1st/2nd/more preferences on the ballot paper.
Since then, I was checking out EC website regularly to figure out when the Election Commission is planning to revise the electoral roll. Finally, they announced the dates and I was able to register totally online, by uploading scanned photograph and scanned proofs of address and identity. Even though I did not receive the EPIC by post, I was able to see the number and even information about my polling booth for the Assembly Elections 2013. So, I took a print out of that and visited the local BBMP office. First time they redirected me to another office, where the officers informed that my card would not reach there and I should collect it from the local main office, which is the first one. Visited there again and got a laminated EPIC by paying fees of Rs. 25.
For the Assembly elections, as opposed to the MLC elections, there was much bigger campaigning. But none of the candidates came in for door-to-door campaigns inside apartments. Probably, they were expecting that apartment-dwellers would skip voting this time also as it happened in earlier elections. Though I got a few mailers from our security guards, they are just a few. EC website was also displaying the full list of candidates for all constituencies. That was a good thing, for sure.
I had made up my mind about voting in this election, and since I could see my polling booth from EC's website, I planned to go for it anyway. Though I did not know about the premises, it was pretty near my residence, and Google maps could point out the exact location.
Planned to avoid the early morning rush as I know that most of the locals are early risers, there would be longer queues then. And during last Assembly elections, when I did not had my name registered for voting, I had noticed that during the afternoons there are much smaller queues. So, I planned a post-lunch visit to polling booth.
Google Map was right, as always - location pointed there was perfect. And the EC site had provided even the room number where I had to go for voting. I headed straight to that - there were just 3 people ahead of me in the queue (for that room). Polling officers had photographs, EPIC numbers, names and addresses of all voters printed in tabular fashion. So, it was completed very fast - within 5 minutes from joining the queue, I was done voting.
Overall, pretty neat experience. My wishlist:
1. EPIC cards should have color photographs. And if possible, they should not re-size photographs, rather should crop a part that fits.
2. Since people can login into EC site, they should be able to vote online. This will surely increase voting percentage in large metros such as Bangalore.
3. EC website, where you can search for your name in the electoral roll, you have to provide your father's name in the field marked as 'Relationship name' - but, that's not so obvious. A short message on what is expected to be typed in that field would be useful.
4. Candidates should be able to communicate (one-way, of course) using mass SMS or emails via EC. Since mobile numbers and emails would be personal data of voters, candidates would have to do it via EC only. This way, they can reach the electorate in urban areas in a cheaper way. Given the high penetration of cellphones in India, the model may work fine in semi-urban areas and rural areas too. Providing such avenues to reduce campaigning expenses would eventually reduce corruption too.
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