Use of technology for making life easier is the motto of this digital age. From businesses to households, technology is a big enabler. IoT devices are successfully connecting the physical world to the digital. Your smartphone, tv, car, and even your shower, everything is smart and digital. Everything is one way or the other, helping you with your daily grind.
QR Codes, as a technology, have also contributed significantly. The inherent ability of QR Codes to contain a large amount of encoded data, be it text, URL, image, phone number, email, or SMS has been useful in particular. Businesses in retail, marketing and advertising, restaurants and eateries, digital payments, healthcare, identification and access control, shipping, logistics as well as Government mandated works like VOTING have particularly been utilizing QR codes for various reasons.
Voting in an election is a fundamental right in many countries and that demands for fair and transparent election machinery in every country and in every county. Voting is a vital part of any vibrant democracy.
“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people”, said Abraham Lincoln. And to ensure a proper functioning of a democracy, Voting in elections is crucial. As a technology, QR Codes will play a significant role in this regard.
What are QR Codes?
QR Code, short for ‘Quick Response’ code, is a 2D barcode image which is capable of storing a large amount of text (approx 200 words), URL, phone number, address, email, SMS, etc. It was first developed by Masahiro Hara, a Japanese engineer in 1994.
QR Codes for voting
QR codes can make the voting process more accessible and convenient for everyone, as voters can cast their ballots from anyplace, at any time, without having to go to a physical polling place. By using QR codes for voting, voters could use their smartphones or other mobile devices to access a unique code that would allow them to vote securely and anonymously. This would also eliminate the need for traditional paper ballots and reduce the risk of vote-frauds or human-error in the vote-counting process.
The state of California allows candidate to ‘copy and paste’ the Democracy at Work QR code onto their website or printed materials that redirects citizens to California Online Voter Registration website where they can register to vote.
The use of QR codes in voting has the potential to revolutionize the way elections are conducted. By leveraging the power of smartphones and digitalization, QR codes could make the voting process more efficient, secure, and accessible for voters around the world. QR code-based voting can encourage more people to participate in the democratic process and improve the accuracy and efficiency of the vote-counting process as well.
The Delhi (Union Territory in India) general assembly elections in 2020 also allowed citizens to download a QR code-based voter slip from voter helpline app, which they could show to the electoral officials present at polling booth, and cast their vote.
Here are 5 specific ways that QR codes could change the future of the voting process:
1. QR will increase accessibility with remote voting
QR codes can enable voters to cast their ballots from anywhere, using their smartphones. This could make the voting process more accessible for people with disabilities, and for those who are unable to physically go to a polling place, and voters living in remote areas. This will give a voice to more citizens and enhance representation.
2. QR codes will improve the efficiency of the voting process
QR codes can simplify the vote-counting process by eliminating the need for traditional paper ballots which will lead to faster and more accurate election results by reducing the risk of human-error.
3. QR Codes for enhanced security in voting
QR codes can increase the overall security of the voting process and help to build trust in the integrity of the results. It is possible by designing QR Codes with built-in security features, such as encryption and tamper-evident seals, to protect against hacking and other forms of manipulation.
4. QR for reduced costs
QR code-based voting systems could potentially reduce the costs linked with traditional paper-based voting, such as printing and distribution of ballots, transportation, and storage.
By using digital QR Codes, voting process can be more cost-effective and sustainable in the long term.
5. QR Codes will increase Voter Engagement
QR codes could make the voting process more convenient and accessible for voters, which could lead to increased voter participation and engagement. People don’t actually have to visit nearest, sometimes not so near, polling booths.
This could help to strengthen democracy and ensure that the voices of all citizens are heard.
It is also true that use of QR codes in voting also presents some challenges and concerns of which security is a major issue, as QR codes can be vulnerable to hacking and other forms of exploitation.
So, it is important to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to protect the integrity of the voting process and uphold voter confidence.
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