Aadhaar linking to help voters: UIDAI ex-chief

Aadhaar linking to help voters: UIDAI ex-chief

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:17.12.2021

The option of linking Voters’ ID with Aadhaar is a path-breaking reform that will enhance transparency as well as convenience in the election process, making change of address and verification simpler and faster.

Enabling easier change of address will allow people to register in a new location and participate in elections while also weeding out multiple registrations, said former UIDAI chief and former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

“Even though the linking is voluntary, I am sure that given the sheer convenience, more and more voters will opt for linkage of Aadhaar with their voter Icards and take advantage of the facility. Just like people today voluntarily offer their Aadhaar for opening bank accounts, mobile phone connection and vaccination,” Pandey told TOI.

The linking option will be a global first as no other country has such a data base of biometric identities. There are provisions in the Aadhaar Act and the EC system to maintain the integrity, security and privacy of the data. Since the verification is controlled by the Aadhaar system, the security will be higher as so far there is no breach of data held in UIDAI servers.

As of now, when a person moves locations, the process of registering as a voter needed either a paperbased application or scanning which could become time- consuming.