BENGALURU: The voting process could become much simpler in the future, with the integration of facial recognition technology. Taking a cue from the recent hackathon held in the city, the office of the Chief Electoral Office (CEO), Karnataka, with the help of the students of SRM University in Chennai, has created this new technology where voters can skip the long queues and directly cast their vote.
Under this new system, all the voter will have to do is download the ‘Chunavana’ mobile app and enter their Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, which is printed on the voter ID above the picture. After entering the registered mobile number, an OTP will be generated, following which a selfie must be taken on the app, Surya Sen, Joint CEO-2 told The New Indian Express.
He added that after this when the voter goes to the booth, the polling officer will check the details on a tab and allow the voter to vote immediately. The face of the voter will once again be scanned to avoid any errors. They will be allowed to vote directly without any further documentation, he explained.
Explaining the advantages of using such technology, Sen said, “It will cut down the queues and waiting time for voting. Less manpower will be needed at polling booths. So instead of four, only three or fewer officers can be deployed at each booth.” However, experts warn that there should be end-to-end security of such data.