Sir,

In the polling for MP elections yesterday, it was pathetic to see polling staff and assistants carrying so many loose sheets of voter id slips and precariously balancing the same on their thighs and hands. They were fumbling with so many loose sheets of voters list which were prepared in different arrangements like alphabetical, serial number, street wise, area wise etc. Yet many voters were confused as to whom to approach to get the voter id slips and where to vote.

There were many more party workers doing more or less the same type work outside the premises, 200 meters away, under a tree, or a bus shelter. All these papers finally end up in garbage bins the next day, or strewn on the street. Is this an environmental-friendly process? Could we not have used paperless electronic kiosks to guide the voter to the right queue? At least the staff could have been provided with electronic tablets to locate the desired information on the screen.

Also why print the voters list to carry the deleted names that too with a stamp of “Deleted” on the voter’s name?  It may be noted that the word “deleted” is computer printed and not hand written or rubber stamped after printing a final list. Will it  not lead to an obvious conclusion that some malpractice is at play? It is baffling to see the name on the list and then deleting the same and exhibit the deletion using computer graphics. Hope some higher authority will go deep into this matter and fix the responsibility. 

– Prof. B.S. Shankara (retd.), Mysuru, 19.4.2019

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