ICT in Election Management Jammu Kashmir Saleem Khan

ICT in Election Management Jammu & Kashmir Saleem Khan 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS Technical Director & Addl. SIO, NIC J&K 1

Introduction 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 2

Basics l Name of the Project l l User Department l l NIC J&K Language l l Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir State Level Agency l l J&K Electoral Rolls and EPIC Management System English / Urdu / Hindi URL of the Website l 12/12/2021 http: //ceojk. nic. in JK-ERMS 3

Basic Details l Parliamentary Constituencies - 6 l Assembly Constituencies - 87 l Districts - 22 l Tehsils - 82 l Polling Stations - 9592 l Registered Electors (25. 09. 13) - 67, 70, 043 l EPIC Card Holders (25. 09. 13) - 61, 11, 437 l EPIC Coverage (25. 09. 13) - 90. 27% 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 4

Citizen Services l Web Interface l Downloadable Electoral Rolls http: //ceojk. nic. in/Election. PDF/Main. aspx l Name based and EPIC No. based Search – http: //ceojk. nic. in/namesearch/main. aspx l E-Filing of Claims and Objections – http: //ceojk. nic. in/e. Filing l Claims and Objections (View) http: //ceojk. nic. in/claimforms/auth_pages/frmefilingdisplay. aspx l Know Your Booth Level Officer http: //ceojk. nic. in/claimforms/auth_pages/frmblodetails. aspx l Citizens’ Grievances – http: //eci-citizenservices. nic. in l Your Polling Station on Google Map – http: //www. eci-polldaymonitoring. nic. in/psleci/default. aspx 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 5

SMS Based Services Mobile (SMS) Interface (Number: 919211728083) v. Where am I enrolled (in Electoral Rolls)? – JKERM <space> STATUS <space> 10 -character-EPIC v. Who is my Booth Level Officer? – JKERM <space> BLO <space> 10 -character-EPIC v. Where is my Polling Station? – JKERM <space> PS <space> 10 -character-EPIC v. Is my EPIC Number valid? – JKERM <space> VALID <space> 10 -character-EPIC v. Get Help about different SMS based services – JKERM <space> HELP 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 6

Electoral Roll Management System E-filing 1. Applications (Form 6/7/8/8 A) 2. E-Filing (Online Application) Physical Forms Manuscript Database Data Entry Operator / Vendor Electoral Registration Officer Submit Report Electoral Database Roll Printing 12/12/2021 EPIC Card MIS Reports Nominate Enq. Officer Verification by BLO Applicant (Voter) JK-ERMS 7

Electoral Rolls – A Checklist l l l Header Information Missing Header Information Wrong Spelling Mistakes Section Marking Unallocated Sections – Orphan Records Disposed Claims and Objections appearing Split Families Record Repeating Duplicate Serial Numbers Jumps / Discontinuous Serial Numbers Images Missing Duplicate EPIC 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 8

Processes l l l Rationalization of Polling Stations Updation of Control Tables Digitization of Claims and Objections (Forms) Keeping track of every citizen’s application /claim Assignment of work to enquiry officers by ERO Action by ERO (acceptance/ rejection/ further clarification). Improving Rolls Quality l De-duplication of data/ record l Reports on Health of Electoral Rolls l Photo Voter Slips Integration of Mother Rolls with Supplementary Rolls Transliteration Printing of a Part’s header page, electoral roll and MIS reports Conversion of photos (JPEG to binary) & merging with textual data Printing of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 9

Online System – Major Objectives l l l Hosting ERMS Software/ Database Centrally Role based access to database and applications On-line Filing and Tracking of Electors’ claims Monitoring by the EROs, DEOs, the CEO and the ECI Authentication by means of Digital Signatures of ERO History/ Log of the entire workflow Integration of Rolls and EPIC database Improving Quality/ Fidelity of Electoral Rolls Bringing about greater transparency Improving government – citizen interface MIS Reports – EP Ratio, Gender Ratio, Age Cohort, EPIC & PER Ratio National Voter Search and de-Duplication 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 10

Salient Features l l l Claims and Objections ¡ Continuous Updation - Digitization of Electors’ claims as soon as received ¡ E-Filing of claims / objections and their Online Tracking ¡ Changes in E-Rolls authenticated by ERO using Digital Signatures ¡ Complete History/ Log of the entire workflow from filing to disposal ¡ MIS Reports/ Screens for EROs, DEOs, the CEO and the ECI Electoral Rolls ¡ Electoral Rolls in Urdu and English (for entire state) and in Hindi (for 5 districts) ¡ Being available on the official website, Rolls are easy to obtain and read / understand. ¡ Photo-Electoral rolls to help in elimination of impersonation during voting. ¡ Name based and EPIC No. based search in the Rolls ¡ Online generation of family wise Rolls extracts in Urdu, English and Hindi ¡ Alphabetically sorted Electoral Rolls at the time of polling ¡ Computerized Voter Slips at the time of Elections Electors Photo Identity Cards ¡ Centralized Auto generation of unique EPIC number in order to curb fake card production ¡ Capturing/ storing/ automatic indexing the electors’ photographs and linking with textual data ¡ The software enables auto-Detection of logical data errors 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 11 11

De-Duplication Reports 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 13

Detecting Duplicates 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 14

A New Initiative 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 15 15

Rollout through CSC l l l Using Common Service Centres (CSC) Tie-up with J&K Bank Ltd. ( SCA for CSC Project) 806 Khidmat Centres (CSC) functional Revenue Management Services include: l e-Filing via J&K Bank Portal (Form 6, 7, 8 & 8 -A) l PVC EPIC issuance SMS based Query Download / Print Electoral Rolls Name / EPIC based Search in the Rolls Database Reports download/ print Electoral Rolls extract View Claims/ Objections and Tracking Application for Duplicate EPIC l l l l 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 16

Other Applications 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 22 22

ICT in Electoral Processes Automated processes during Elections v. Randomization of Polling Parties v. Voting Scheme for Employees (Postal Ballot) v. Randomization of Electronic Voting Machines v. SMS based Poll-day Monitoring v. Web casting of Poll process v. Candidates Information online (Affidavits Hosting) v. Security Plan v. Communication Plan v. Results Processing v. Post Result Tasks 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 23

Major Recent Initiatives 1. Online Repository for Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) All India Database of EVMs maintained by the ECI Data entry completed for Jammu and Kashmir State, district and ware-house wise inventory of Ballot Units (BU) and Control Units (CU) De-duplication and avoidance of conflicts Workflow for Intra-district, Intra-state and Inter-state transfer of BU and CU on demand First-level check (working status) by vendors Second-level check (Randomization) of EVM for deployment 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 24 24

INTRODUCTION l EVM Tracking entry application is developed for creating a centralized database for CU and BU’s distributed across 35 states and UTs of India. l This Application has to be used at CEO/DEO/Warehouse In-charge/ ECI Admin levels. l It allows Tracking of Control Unit and Ballot Unit and their location. This application has the facility to create and enter the warehouse details and stock entry of CU and BU. l Transfer of CU and BU once entered will not require re-entry of data. l It also keeps the check of duplicate entry of CU and BU in all the warehouses across the country. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS EVM Tracking Application 25 25

BU/CU Conflict request sent by one district to another district (Outside the state) 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 26

BU/CU Conflict request received in the district from another district (Outside the state) 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 27

Transfer of CU & BU: Inter-State transfer of CU/BU is initiated by the EVM ADMIN at the Commission’s office. Inter – State Transfer of CU/BU 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS EVM Tracking Application 28 28

Intra – State Transfer of CU/BU – a. Intra-State transfer of CU/BU refers to the transfer of CU and BU from one district to another. This process is initiated by the CEO of the state. b. successful login, the CEO can choose the New Supply orders option from the sub-menu of CEO on the main menu page and then select the Intra – State Transfer tab. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS EVM Tracking Application 29 29

a. Now the user must perform the second level randomization. b. The user must now move to the Randomisation tab and click on the Randomise button for the second level randomization of the CUs and BUs. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS EVM Tracking Application 30 30

Major Recent Initiatives 2. Public Grievance Monitoring Public Grievance and Citizen Services portal of ECI at http: //www. eci-citizenservicesforofficers. nic. in/ cservices/default. aspx 12/12/2021 CEO, DEO, ERO, AERO, ARO and BLO users Establishment of Call Centers at the levels of CEO and DEO Marking/ forwarding of application Deadlines for redressal SMS generation Phone numbers JK-ERMS to be mapped to “ 1950” (Toll Free) 31 31

AGGRIEVED PEOPLE Complainant can know status of his complaint on Public Website and through Call Centre. For each complaint, a unique Complaint ID via SMS is sent on complainant’s registered mobile/cell phone no. for tracking purpose. 5 1 a ECI Public Website SINGLE STATE/MULTI DISTRICT COMPLAINTS PGR SERVER Fax COMPLAINT LEVELS & NATIONAL / MULTI-STATE CONTROLLING OFFICER COMPLAINTS AGGRIEVED PEOPLE CEO Phone Call SINGLE DISTRICT/MULTIAC COMPLAINTS AGGRIEVED PEOPLE 1 Letter 2 • Complaints SMS Personal Meeting • An aggrieved person can lodge a complaint through various channels such as Toll Free No, Public Website, Letter, Fax, Personal Meeting, Phone Call and SMS 12/12/2021 to concerned officer. from various sources except Public Website and Toll Free No. are entered into the system manually and auto forwarded to the concerned officer with an SMS according to the level chosen by the complainant. • All users at each level have their own system account for processing complaints. DEO SINGLE AC COMPLAINTS • When 4 Satisfaction Response for the Action Taken by the officer is confirmed by JK-ERMS personal phone call and by Call Centre till the complete disposal of complaint. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA C O M P L A I N T F O R W A R D I N G 3 ERO/RO COMPLAINT LODGED DIRECTLY TO CONCERNED OFFICER PUBLIC GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL a complaint is 32 received, concerned officer based on the subject takes necessary action. • Officer may manually forward a complaint to next lower hierarchical level (if available) for necessary action. • In case of Multi-Level complaints, the final decision will be taken by 32 32 level the next higher officer of the selected complaint level.

Future Plans 1. SMS based Poll Monitoring 12/12/2021 Tested successfully in Last Vidhan Sabha Polls in Bihar etc. An ‘Event based management system’ – from the time of dispatch till the time of deposition of election material SMS gateway obtained through NIC. 9212357123 is the virtual destination number that ECI has purchased from NIC to receive messages from all over India. TRAI has allowed bulk SMS for this purpose Every functionary – CEO, DEO, RO, ARO, PO made system user by means of their mobile number Pre-poll, Actual Poll and Post-poll process monitoring by means of SMS generated in pre-defined formats SMS can be sent directly or through the System Website Auto-reminders for defaulters to send reports within the set Time Limits Status update enables fast decision making whether the event is sudden or expected 33 JK-ERMS 33

Process of SMS Gateway Services from NIC makes it easy to stay connected with all mobile service operators. We have a wide range of mobile communication solutions including Web SMS and SMS API Interfaces. The SMS Gateway should be reliable, fast, cost effective and covers almost all operators in the India. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 34

Process of SMS based monitoring system l Step 1: - Mobile Registration. • RO (Returning officer) • ARO (Assistant Returning officer) • SO (Sector officer) • PO (Presiding officer) l Step 2: - Send Events & Time based reports. 12/12/2021 • Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Reports by RO/ARO/SO (if PO does not carry mobile phone with them or Mobile Phone of PO, for some reasons beyond JK-ERMS 35 control, fails to send SMS)

SMS formatl SMS is designed in such a format the message received by the system(SMS gateway) through the sender(RO/ARO/SO/PO) could be automatically interpreted and updated into the database. l Keyword –’poll’ start with this keyword. 12/12/2021 - All SMS format will JK-ERMS 36

Message to be sent on 9212357123 – This is the virtual destination number that we have purchased from NIC to receive messages from all over India. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 37

SMS format- Mobile registration For RO Date of Registration- P-7 day SMS syntaxpoll<space>State_code<space>Dist_no<space>Ac_no<space >RO e. g. poll S 06 01 001 RO For ARO Date of Registration- P-7 day SMS syntaxpoll<space>State_code<space>Dist_no<space>Ac_no<space 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 38

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Station Safe Arrival of Polling Party at Polling • Date of Registration P-2/P-1 Day • Time of Registration Immediately after reaching Polling Station • SMS syntax poll<space> SAP • Remarks SAP- Polling Party Safely Arrived at the Polling station • Event agents Mock Poll and attendance of polling • Date of Registration • Time of Registration 12/12/2021 P-Day Immediately after conduct of mock JK-ERMS 39

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Poll Started • Date of Registration P day • Time of Registration Latest by 7: 15 am • SMS syntax poll<space>PS • Remarks PS- Poll Started • Event Report on 2 hourly (9 AM) • Date of Registration P-Day • Time of Registration 9 am • SMS syntax poll<space>9 AM<space>male, female, other 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 40

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Voters in queue at the closure of poll • Date of Registration P day • Time of Registration Closure of poll • SMS syntax poll<space> Q<space>10 Remarks Q – Stands for Voters in queue at the schedule time for end of in queue poll. 3 digits stand(s) for total number of voters • Event Final Voter Turnout • Date of Registration P-Day • Time of Registration After end of Poll • SMS syntax poll<space> 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 42

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Safe arrival of Polling Party at RC after end of Poll • Date of Registration P day • Time of Registration Immediately after reaching RC • SMS syntax poll<space> SARC • Remarks SARC – Stands for Safe arrival of Polling party at RC • Event Poll Interrupted due to EVM Non. Functioning or. apprehension of such problem • Date of Registration P-Day • Time of Registration Immediately after such type of situation 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 43

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Poll interrupted or apprehension of poll interruption. due to Law & Order problem • Date of Registration P day • Time of Registration Immediately after such type of situation arises • SMS syntax poll<space> PROB<space>LW • Remarks PROB- Problem, LW - Law & Order Problem. • Event Poll Interrupted or there is a chance of poll interruption. due to other Problem • Date of Registration P-Day • Time of Registration Immediately after such type of 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 44

Reports by Presiding Officer/Polling Officer • Event Problem resolved • Date of Registration P day • Time of Registration Immediately after problem is solved and poll is resumed. in case • SMS syntax poll<space>PRES Remarks PRES means Problem resolved and poll resumed in case there is. interruption. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 45

In this report section user can easily see poll day report of the polling station. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 47

CEO can modify particular record of the polling station if in case SMS Gateway is not working. 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 48

Future Plans 2. Webcasting of Poll process Tested successfully in Last Vidhan Sabha Polls in a few constituencies To keep a check on illegal activities such as booth capturing, money distribution and bogus voting to bringing about complete transparency. To broadcast and monitor LIVE, the election process from a distant polling station. To spread awareness to participate in Free and Fair Elections. Laptop/ Desktop, Webcam, Network connection and a Chat Client / Free software/ 3 rd party messenger are all that is required. Prevention of malpractices by election officials Eliminating impersonation Live broadcast enables timely decision and action 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 49 49

WEBCASTING “Broadcasting over the Internet” 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 50 50

Why do we need…. ? To keep a check on illegal activities such as booth capturing, money distribution and bogus voting to bringing about complete transparency. l To broadcast and monitor LIVE election process from a distant polling station. l To capture faces of voters coming to vote at PS in a sequence for remote viewing by election officials. l To spread AWARENESS to participate in Free and Fair Elections. l 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 51 51

Why it wasn’t possible during early elections before 2000 in India? Limited technology and poor internet connectivity. l Costly hardware infrastructure, sometimes difficult to procure. l Lack of computer knowledge and its awareness l Rural areas were totally deprived of telecommunication means. l 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 52 52

How a webcast can be done…? l Webcasting Methods based upon network circuit: ¡ Open Network (preferred) l Social websites for free live broadcasting ¡ Closed Network l CCTV surveillance l Pre-owned Proprietary Software (WAN based) 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 53 53

THANKS 12/12/2021 JK-ERMS 55