Context: Recently, Union Cabinet has approved some key electoral reforms. These reforms will be reflected in amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
What are the key electoral reforms approved by the Cabinet?
Linking Aadhaar with electoral roll

• Linking of the Aadhaar Card with the Voter ID will be allowed on a voluntary basis. This will help remove duplication and strengthen the sanctity of the electoral rolls. 
• Moreover, this is being done in accordance with the Supreme Court’s right to privacy judgement and a test of proportionality. 

Note: In 2015, EC had launched the National Electoral Law Purification and Authentication Programme to link Aadhaar with the Voter ID. But this initiative was halted following the Supreme Court’s directive that using Aadhaar would not be mandatory to avail of welfare schemes.

Voting by Special Procedure Gender Neutral

• Currently, an Army man’s wife is entitled to be enrolled as a service voter, but a woman Army officer’s husband is not allowed.
• Section 60 of the Representation of the People Act refers to such a wife being ordinarily residing with that person for allowing enrolment as a service voter. The Act will now be amended to replace the word “wife” with “spouse”.

Increasing the attempts to register in the electoral rolls

• From January 1, 2022, those voters turning 18 will have the opportunity to register at four different times of the year, each with different cut-off dates. Under the current law, they may only do this once a year.

Expanding Powers of EC during Elections

• The Election Commission will have all the powers required to take over any premises for the conduct of elections. This will expand the EC’s powers beyond polling stations and the storage of ballot boxes.

Associated Concerns
Aadhar is itself not Mandatory: In 2015, the move to link voter ID to Aadhaar was put on the backburner after the Supreme Court Judgement.
When it held that “the Aadhaar card Scheme is purely voluntary”.

• Besides this, Aadhaar was only meant to be proof of residence. It is not proof of citizenship.

Fears of Mass Disenfranchisement: The Bill allows electoral registration officers to ask for Aadhaar numbers of applicants wanting to register as voters to establish the identity of the applicant.

• In the absence of Aadhar the government would be able to use voter identity details for disenfranchising some people and profile the citizens.

No Data Protection Law: Experts have said that in the absence of a robust personal data protection law (a Bill in that regard is yet to be cleared by Parliament) any move to allow sharing of data can prove to be problematic.
Privacy Concerns: Electoral data at present is held by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in its own database, has its own verification process, and is separate from other government databases.

• The proposed linkage between the Aadhaar and election database will make data available to the ECI and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
• This could lead to infringement of the privacy of citizens.

Government’s Stand

• Voluntary Linking: The proposed linkage between the Aadhaar and election database is voluntary.
• No Risk of Disenfranchisement: No application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in the electoral roll shall be deleted for inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number.

Key Criticism of bill

• It would be detrimental to our privacy and democratic right to vote.
• There might be a possibility of disenfranchisement caused by the linking of Aadhaar and voter IDs.
• In 2018, at least 55 lakh voters found they had been arbitrarily deleted from the voter database.
• Proposal of voluntary use of Aadhaar unlikely to clear Proportionality test.

Proportionality test

• The action must be sanctioned by law;
• The proposed action must be necessary in a democratic society for a legitimate aim;
• The extent of such interference must be proportionate to the need for such interference;
• There must be procedural guarantees against abuse of such interference.

Road Ahead

• Need for Comprehensive Legislation: An error-free Electoral Roll is sine qua non of free and fair election. However, the Government should come with a comprehensive bill so that proper discussion can happen in the Parliament.
• Need for More Clarification: The bill should specify the extent of data sharing between the two databases, the methods through which consent will be obtained, and whether consent to link the databases can be revoked.