Digital Voter ID

26-08-2023

10:46 AM

1 min read

Prelims: Polity & Governance

Overview:

Recently, in response to an RTI enquiry, ECI said that just Over 67 lakh voters (less than 1% of voters) have downloaded a digital voter ID, known as the electronic Electoral Photo ID Card (e-EPIC), from the time the document was made available until December 23, 2022.

About:

Along with e-PAN and e-Aadhaar, the e-EPIC is one of the few generally accepted identity documents that can be downloaded as a legally valid PDF file.
About 9.8 crore voters are currently eligible to download an E-EPIC, the ECI said in its RTI response, that is, 6.8% of voters who are eligible to download an e-EPIC as a PDF document have done so — this is equivalent to less than 1% of all registered voters in India.

What is E-EPIC:

e-EPIC is a portable document format (PDF) version of the EPIC which can be downloaded on mobile or in a self-printable form on the computer.
A voter can thus store the card on his/her mobile, upload it on Digi locker or print it and self-laminate it.
It can be used as a valid proof of age and address to avail various government services and schemes. It is equally valid as a proof of document for voter participation.
In the first phase, new electors who were registered during the Special Summary Revision 2021 and had a unique mobile number in the e-roll were eligible for the e-EPIC. In the second phase, all eligible voters who have a valid EPIC number were made eligible for the e-EPIC.

Q1) What is democratic election?

Democratic elections means ‘competitive, periodic, inclusive, regular elections in which persons to hold office at all levels of government are elected, through the secret ballot, by citizens who broadly enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms

Source: Less than 1% of voters downloaded e-EPIC, two years after the digital voter ID was announced