The Telangana State Government has shown an interest in creating a blockchain-based e-voting platform to be used by local and national governments, enabling voters to cast their votes remotely and privately. In his webinar speech dubbed ‘Exploring Blockchain for Remote Voting,’ the Principal Secretary of Information Technology Jayesh Ranjan said that e-voting would first be attempted on a small scale and then extended to the national government. The Webinar was hosted by the Tamil Nadu E-Governance Agency and the Election Commission of India.
Mr Ranjan calls for state governments to team up and improve the technology
In attendance were India’s public engagement site MyGov, Ministry of Electronics and IT, and organizations working in the blockchain sector. Notably, the Deccan Chronicle reported that the meeting aimed to reflect on the likelihood of implementing blockchain technology in rolling out an e-voting platform for Indian states.
In his further statement, Ranjan claimed that state governments could work together with the approval of the Election Commission of India to improve the technology of facial recognition and encryption tools.
He noted that state governments might use their influence to persuade small institutions, such as sports associations, cultural associations, and neighborhoods, to hold elections through a blockchain-based e-voting platform. When there are enough users, they will move on to persuade the national government.
Ranjan indicated that there should be a requirement for this specific type of technology and one needed to illustrate specific shortcomings that can be addressed through a blockchain-based e-voting platform. Besides, he said an example of Telangana state government T-chits that use blockchain to control chit funds across the state.
Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency, CEO, and E-Commerce Commissioner Santosh K Misra approved e-voting to be started on a small scale and extended over time. He noted that there was a need to develop faith among the public in the light of e-voting systems by emphasizing user engagement.