About the Lost Votes Campaign
Lost votes is The Times of India largest-ever collective campaign aimed at getting the right for voting for those who have moved away from the address where their vote is registered.
Drawing nation-wide attention, the publication with each step in the campaign parsed awareness to millions of migrated voters and concerned citizens on the importance of casting their vote and urgency of addressing the gap. As per the insights gained during the campaign roll-out, 290 million eligible voters were unable to exercise their right to vote, due to migration without a permanent local address.
TOI became the voice of the people via their Lost Votes campaign, urging the Election Commission to find an effective, immediate and permanent solution. Following the year-long campaign, the Election Commission recently announced that they are working on a technology-led solution that will address the issue so that there are no more lost votes.
About the Challenge
TOI became the voice of the people via their Lost Votes campaign, urging the Election Commission to find an effective, immediate and permanent solution. Following the year-long campaign, the Election Commission recently announced that they are working on a technology-led solution that will address the issue so that there are no more lost votes. This is an opportunity for all the tech enthusiasts to solve our nation’s critical problem of the lost votes. Your idea can find 29 crore lost votes.
Problem Statement
Many Indians are always on the move. For work or education. Many things like the bank accounts and mobile numbers automatically travel with us. But our right to votes is tied to the place where it’s registered in. An individual must be physically present where they are registered on polling day to be allowed to vote.
It needs to be changed. It should be possible for every Indian to vote irrespective of where he or she may be temporarily located. The objective of this challenge is to design a strong and secure technological solution or prototype that will allow electors to vote without having to go to designated polling station of their respective constituencies.
The proposed solution must address the various facets of the problem like voter identification, authorization, encryption of votes using secure technology and at the same time be feasible to scale and implemented across every part of the country.
Rewards and Recognition
- Cash prizes:
- Winner: INR 2 Lacs
- Runner up: INR 1 Lacs
- 1st Runner up: INR 50,000
- Accolades: Top 10 teams to receive certificates and 2 years access to GitHub Team worth $5000
Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be judged equally across 4 criteria on whether the solution solves the problem and uses technology effectively.
- Completeness – How fully has the idea been implemented? Can it achieve an impact on the field?
- Effectiveness and efficiency – Does the solution address a high priority area? Does it achieve its goal effectively and efficiently?
- Design and usability – How good are the design, user experience, and ease of use of the solution? How quickly can it be put to use?
- Creativity and innovation – How unique was the approach to solve the problem?
How to Register?
Interested participants can register and submit their solutions for the challenge through this link.
Important Dates
| Phase | Date |
| Launch | 04th October, 2020 |
| Last date to submit the solution | 03rd November, 2020 – 23:59 |
| Shortlist Announcement | To be Announced later |
| Final Round and Declaration of Winners | To be Announced later |
For more details, click the link below.
Times of India (TOI) Lost Votes Tech Solutions Challenge
Responses