The Election Commission of India has launched the beta version of its new Voter Turnout app in Google Play Store. The app would enable users to check the voter turnout in realtime during the elections.
The app can display an estimated voter turnout information at three levels: the state level, the various parliamentary constituencies and at the assembly constituency level. The displayed estimates are calculated from the data gathered by the Returning Officers in real time.
The app would increase the transparency of voter turnout information in public and also ensure that the information would be easily available to the media. The Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said: “once the election is over and polling parties return, the data would be verified and the final figure would be available on the app along with the breakup of male and female voters”.
Users are required to have a smartphone running on Android 4.4 KitKat or above to use the app. The app has been downloaded over 10,000 times till now, and it has earned a rating of 4.3 out of 5, means most early users of the app are satisfied with it.
The app has a simple interface with two buttons on the bottom left and right side. The button on the left is toggle between the voter turnout aggregates of the states and parliamentary constituencies. The button on the right is used to find the estimated turnout for individual states, parliamentary constituencies and assembly constituencies.
The app is in beta stage, and at present, it is showing only the second phase figures, the most recent phase of the elections. There is no option to view data for the first phase of elections or cumulative turnout for all the completed phases. It is expected that subsequent releases of the app will have more options to view voter turnout data.
