After reports emerged of Election Commission of India (ECI) using facial recognition technology at a polling booth in Bengaluru, internet rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has filed an RTI with the ECI and raised concerns about surveillance of voting habits.
The report by Moneycontrol said that the system will be piloted at one polling station — Room no. 2, Government Ramnarayan Chellaram College on Palace Road, near the office of the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer. EC officials told Moneycontrol that voters at this polling station would need to download the EC's Chunavana mobile application..
After keying in their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, mobile number and generating an OTP, they will need to upload a selfie through the app. Once a voter reached the polling booth, he/she would undergo facial recognition scanning for verification, the report said. IFF has asked a copy of the relevant government order/notice/direction accompanying this move in its RTI.
Among other details, it also asked them to indicate the categories of data that will be collected under the scheme, an exhaustive list of the authorised personnel who will have access to the data collected and the accuracy rate of the FRT that will be used for this scheme.
"The use of inaccurate FRT for voter verification at scale may result in exclusion and prevent citizens from enjoying their fundamental right to vote. It may also contribute to surveillance of voting habits," the IFF said.
EC officials reportedly told Moneycontrol that the system would reduce waiting times/long queues and prevent bogus voting and electoral malpractices.
Voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm. Counting of votes to the 224-member Assembly election will be out on May 13. A voter turnout of 20.99 per cent was recorded till 11 am on Wednesday.
