The voter ID has gone digital with the launch today of the e-EPIC, which is a secure PDF version of the electoral identity card that can either be downloaded on the mobile phone or in a printable format on the laptop.
The digital version of the voter identity card was launched on the occasion of National Voters’ Day. The electronic voter ID card, according to the Commission, is a secure, portable PDF version of the voter ID, which can either be downloaded on the mobile phone, uploaded as a PDF on DigiLocker, or printed and laminated by the card holder. All voters who have a valid EPIC number are eligible to download the e-EPIC.
The electronic voter ID is aimed at dealing with the issue of voters losing their identity cards and as a result facing difficulty in casting their vote. Enrolled voters can either go to the websites www.voterportal.eci.gov.in and www.nvsp.in, or access the voter helpline on Election Commission’s mobile app to download the e-EPIC.
Speaking on the occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind commended the Commission’s efforts to make use of Digital India as also information technology to come up with innovative solutions to make it easier for the voters to exercise their franchise.
“I have been told that as a result of these efforts, up to January 1, 2021, around 27 lakh new voters have been added to the voters’ list. Now, the total number of voters in our country is more than 92 crore, of which women comprise over 44 crore voters,” Kovind said.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who launched the digital identity cards, said he especially wanted to highlight the fact that the Commission’s own in-house team had developed it.
“It gives me immense satisfaction as law minister and great happiness as IT minister to launch the digital identity cards. I will give directions to the IT department to see how the Commission's endeavours can further be strengthened digitally,” he said.
Noting the capability of technology to empower voters, he referred to the debate on the reliability of EVMs and said that while there can be different views on the voting machines, it cannot be denied that it has empowered the voters as booth capturing has become a thing of the past.
“We need to reflect objectively and impartially on the issue. While our primary commitment is to our parties, our fundamental commitment is to our country and to ensure that our democracy is strengthened,” he said. He also pointed out, in this context, that while the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, it lost in the Assembly elections, and both elections had voting through EVMs.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that while the year 2020 presented challenges with regard to holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new year marks a new beginning with the launch of e-EPIC.
