A threat to voting rights

• The ECI’s claim that Aadhaar-voter ID linkage is voluntary is questionable.

• Form 6B offers no opt-out, forcing voters to submit their Aadhaar number or declare they do not have one.

• The ECI’s latest proposal makes the process more restrictive by requiring citizen-voters who do not provide Aadhaar to physically appear before an Electoral Registration Officer to justify their decision.

• The proposal erodes the commitment to universal and equal suffrage by imposing barriers on those unwilling or unable to furnish Aadhaar.

• The lack of a clear, accessible, and time-bound appellate mechanism for the citizen-voter is exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s decision to comply with procedural fairness and natural justice.

Aadhaar-voter ID Linkage

• The Union government and the ECI argue that Aadhaar-voter ID linkage will eliminate duplicate voters and electoral fraud.

• Aadhaar was never designed to serve as proof of citizenship.

• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, contains sweeping exemptions for government entities, raising the possibility that voter data could be accessed and exploited for political purposes.

• Once Aadhaar is linked to voter IDs, it becomes possible to cross-reference electoral data with other databases, allowing ruling parties to monitor voter demographics.

Seeding Aadhaar with electoral roll data subverts core principles of constitutional design.

• The ECI, a constitutionally independent authority, is vested with the powers of “superintendence, direction and control” over elections.

• The inherent unreliability of the Aadhaar database is another defect.

Methods of Electoral Verification

• The ECI should focus on strengthening traditional, time-tested methods of voter verification.

• Regular door-to-door verification by booth level officers, comprehensive, independent audits of electoral rolls, and functional public grievance redressal frameworks are more effective and constitutionally sound approaches to addressing concerns about alleged duplicate or fraudulent entries.