Internet Freedom Foundation opposes ECI’s EPIC-Aadhaar linkage

"The Internet Freedom Foundation opposes the linking of Aadhaar to our electoral framework — directly or indirectly — as a condition for exercising voting rights. This highly technocratic vision is inspired by the magical thinking of voting through smartphones… this poorly thought out fantasy puts at risk the credibility of the entire electoral process which already is suffering from questions on its credibility," reads part of the statement issued on Thursday by Apar Gupta, advocate and founder-director of IFF.

Referring to the experience of Aadhaar cards being made mandatory for welfare entitlements and linkage to electoral rolls at the state level, the statement warns, "there is a clear and real danger of mass disenfranchisment, data exploitation and the potential for state surveillance".

Urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to be transparent, the foundation calls for oversight on the social media cells of political parties that are using different databases for micro-targeted campaigning "in breach of campaign financing limits".

The statement goes on to point out that Aadhaar numbers are not proof of citizenship and linking the Aadhaar to EPIC may allow non-citizens to find a place on electoral rolls. Asserting that it is a mistake to assume Aadhaar to be untainted, the statement points out that a number of authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India have questioned the sanctity of the Aadhaar database, and the Aadhaar project has been plagued with instances of “mass exclusion, fraud, leakage and biometric failure”. 

The IFF refers to a Supreme Court pronouncement on 18 September 2023 recording an undertaking by the ECI that, “the submission of the Aadhaar number is not mandatory under Rule 26-B of the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022 and hence the Election Commission is looking into issuing appropriate clarificatory changes in the forms introduced for that purpose”. Such ‘clarificatory changes’ have not yet been carried out, the statement points out.

What is more, the Government of India rejected amendments to Form 6B, which fails to recognise that placing the burden on voters to justify non-disclosure effectively transforms a supposedly voluntary process into a mandatory one. Hence, “not only is there a lack of any clear legal basis for making Aadhaar linking mandatory to Voter IDs but on the contrary, the underlying law requires it be voluntary and necessary steps to be taken by the Election Commission to reflect it,” the statement adds.

Form 6B currently permits those who do not already have an Aadhaar number to provide an alternative document for verification of identity. As a result, the amendments effectively permit the ECI to mandate those who have Aadhar numbers to link them to the electoral rolls, despite the fact that previous attempts at Aadhaar-linkage resulted in mass disenfranchisement.

The introduction of Form 6B following the Election Laws (Amendment) Act (2021) and the Registration of Electors (Amenmdment) Rules (2022) presents a false choice to voters by demanding that individuals who decline to provide Aadhaar details must explicitly declare they do not possess an Aadhaar number, potentially forcing citizens to make false statements.

The ECI notified its intention this week to carry forward the plan to link EPIC and Aadhaar databases. This was announced after a meeting of officials from ECI, the law and home ministries as well as from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which supervises Aadhaar.