Bihar, an Indian state, conducts trial of blockchain-encrypted mobile voting system in significant local elections
India has taken a significant step towards modernizing its electoral process by conducting a mobile-based e-voting pilot during the Bihar municipal by-elections. This pilot, aimed at testing the feasibility and security of mobile voting, could potentially revolutionize voting participation, particularly for those facing barriers to traditional in-person voting.
The Bihar municipal by-elections served as a pilot project for mobile e-voting, testing the system's technical and procedural readiness. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is overseeing this transition, balancing innovation with election integrity. The goal is to enable voters, especially those in remote or underserved areas, to participate more easily through secure smartphone-based voting applications.
The pilot was designed to test the system's robustness in a real electoral environment, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and security in vote casting and counting. Lessons learned from this pilot are intended to inform the ECI’s approach to wider implementation.
The e-voting system incorporated blockchain technology for secure and tamper-proof vote recording. Voters were required to register between June 10 and June 22, either through the mobile app or the official election website. A system similar to the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was integrated, providing an auditable trail of each vote cast.
Each mobile number could support access for up to two voters, and web-based voting was also facilitated for individuals lacking smartphones. Voter ID verification protocols were enforced to prevent impersonation. The voting window for the municipal-level e-voting pilot in Bihar was from 7 AM to 1 PM on polling day.
The e-voting pilot in Bihar reflects a growing appetite for digitization in governance, particularly in enhancing civic engagement. However, while the idea is gaining support, challenges remain regarding digital security, voter authentication, and trust in the system. The ECI continues to research and develop protocols to safeguard against manipulation and technical failures before endorsing full-scale adoption for assembly or national elections.
Counting of the votes from the e-voting pilot in Bihar is scheduled for June 30. Bihar is the first state in India to test mobile-based e-voting in municipal by-elections across four districts: Buxar, Patna, Rohtas, and East Champaran.
The results of the e-voting pilot in Bihar will provide insight into whether mobile e-voting will emerge as a complementary tool to traditional voting or evolve into a mainstream mechanism for electoral participation in the years to come. The e-voting initiative was implemented in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the Bihar State Election Commission. Approximately 50,000 registered voters were eligible to cast their votes remotely through the Android application, e-SECBHR.
The move by Bihar towards mobile-based e-voting is a cautious yet progressive leap in the broader adoption of such systems. The broader adoption of mobile-based e-voting would depend on a detailed evaluation of the pilot's outcome, scalability challenges, voter feedback, and cyber risk mitigation strategies. Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana have been active in developing smartphone-based e-voting solutions, indicating state-level innovations that could influence national adoption.
This trajectory suggests that mobile-based e-voting could transform election participation and management in the near future, provided security and transparency issues are adequately resolved. The success of the e-voting pilot in Bihar has triggered interest in remote voting initiatives at a governmental level, making India part of a small group of nations including Estonia. The potential expansion of mobile-based e-voting to upcoming larger-scale elections, including assembly elections, could increase voter turnout and modernize the voting process.
[1] The Economic Times [2] The Hindu [3] The Indian Express [4] The Print
