Helping You Make Informed Decisions
The election is an important political event that is vital in every state, especially democratic ones. Through voting, citizens can have a say as to who they want to lead their country. That is why making an informed decision is very vital when casting a vote. And with the help of technology, this can be a simple matter. Voter Helpline is among those which aid in disseminating election information. Created by the Election Commission of India, it is a social application that aims to develop a culture of avid electoral engagements and make wise ballot decisions among the citizens of India.
An App for Voters
Voter Helpline promises to provide a single point of service and information delivery to voters in India. All this is the government’s initiative in building an active democratic citizenry in the country. With the app’s help, you can easily verify your name in the electoral roll to make sure that you are still eligible to cast your vote. If you are still not registered, the app can help you submit your forms for New Voter Registration, saving you a trip to the electoral office. Moreover, the app can simplify the other election-related processes, which include shifting to another constituency, deleting and objecting in the electoral roll, and correcting entries and transposing within the assembly. The app is also very helpful to those registered voters who are overseas.
In addition to the registration process, Voter Helpline also holds services and resources for both the voters and election offices. With the app’s help, you can find the election schedule within your area. You can even use it to find the polling officials near you and contact them.
But what the users would love most about the app is that it promises to provide you with detailed information about the people who are running for government positions. Voter Helpline will not only provide you with the candidate’s profile, but their income statements, assets, and criminal records, as well. You can view all these directly in the app or download it in a PDF format. With this, you can make a wise decision before casting your votes.
Finally, Voter Helpline lets you see live trends and results during the election period. You can even share the results in your social media. What’s more, you can take a selfie after voting and get the chance to be featured in the official Voter Helpline gallery.
Good Idea, Bad Execution
Voter Helpline is a very handy app to have if you are a registered voter in India—that is, if the app works at all. The app has been more of an annoyance rather than helpful. For one, most of the time, it cannot connect you to the ECI database. And if it does, it crashes many times so you will have to repeat the process over and over. Moreover, while it comes with a service that allows you to change your information through the app, it does not save your changes most of the time. It doesn’t even save anything you filled out. So when the app crashes, and you still haven’t finished filling out the form, you will need to start over once the app works again.
Moreover, the app does not recognize voter ID numbers in the old format. You also cannot upload documents using your Google Drive, even though the app had that feature.
Would Have Been Helpful
All in all, Voter Helpline would have been a very helpful application if it works. The app has got promising functions that will not only help voters make educated decisions but also aid them when it comes to other election matters. But as it is, it annoys users more than help them. If the developers make all the necessary improvements, then the app can truly serve its purpose.
