Smart Voting System Using Facial Recognition

In this paper a new authentication technique is discussed i-e; facial recognition verification for online voting system. It aims to develop a computerized voting system to make the election process more secure and user friendly. The electorate want to visit distinct locations like polling cubicles and stand in an extended queue to cast their vote, because of such reasons most of the people skip their chance of voting. The voter who isn't eligible also can forged its vote via way of means of faux way which can also additionally cause many problems. That's why in this project we have proposed a system or way for voting which is very effective or useful in voting. This system can also save money of the government which is spent in the election process. Overall this project is being developed to help staff of election commission of India and also reduce the human efforts. Keywords: Online Voting, Biometric Authentication, Security System.

Sentencia Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corrupción y derecho al voto en Estados Unidos

En este artículo se estudia la sentencia Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Ciudadanos Unidos contra la Comisión de Elecciones Federales), dictada por la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos como mecanismo de legalización de la influencia irrestricta del financiamiento privado en la política estadounidense. La hipótesis aquí es que esta modificación institucional legaliza, a su vez, una forma de corrupción política que se evidencia en la actual legislación restrictiva del voto. Se presentará un marco referencial en el que se definirán los conceptos que articulan el análisis. Luego, se hará una descripción de los antecedentes y el contexto de la sentencia Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission; en seguida, se realizará un análisis de la sentencia, para pasar luego al repaso de dos de sus consecuencias: la primera es la influencia del dinero negro (donaciones anónimas) tanto en las campañas como en la selección de jueces, y la siguiente es la exposición de la influencia del financiamiento privado ilimitado de las campañas en la legislación restrictiva actual del voto.

Maldives faces heightened political instability

Significance Yameen, who lost power in 2018, was sentenced to five years in jail for money laundering in 2019. The opposition Progressive Congress Coalition (PCC), which comprises two Yameen-centric parties, has recently led protests over Indian influence in the Maldives. Impacts The election commission and judiciary will maintain their independence. China will not back Yameen publicly but will see the re-energising of the opposition as an opportunity to regain influence lost since 2018. Yameen will try, probably in vain, to win over politicians whom he alienated during his presidency.

The Union Election Commission of Myanmar 2010–2020

The 2008 Constitution of the Union of Myanmar establishes the framework for a ‘discipline-flourishing’ constitutional democracy in which the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military, retains a significant degree of power. Under this Constitution, the Union Election Commission (UEC) is vested with significant authority to supervise elections, regulate political parties and electoral campaigns, register voters, suspend elections, and to make conclusive determinations in electoral disputes. Between 2010 and 2020, the UEC oversaw three consecutive general elections and three by-elections. Following a term under the former military leadership, the country's major democratic opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a resounding victory in the 2015 elections. In the years that followed, civilian-military relations were a source of tension, as the NLD attempted to reform the executive and legislative roles for the military guaranteed by the Constitution. These tensions became in particular tangible during the 2020 elections, which the NLD again won in a landslide victory. The military alleged the election was marred by fraud while the UEC rejected this allegation. On 1 February 2021, hours before the new parliament was to convene, the Tatmadaw staged a coup d’état. This article reviews the UEC in its constitutional and political context. It identifies its institutional features, significant points in its brief history, and the impact of UEC leadership as a contributing factor in fostering confidence in the electoral process.

The Malaysian Election Commission: Navigating Electoral Authoritarianism and Political Change

The urgency of electoral reforms has long been identified as a key to improving democracy in Malaysia. For decades, electoral manipulation through gerrymandering, malapportionment, and issues with the electoral roll and conduct of elections have undermined democratic quality and competition. The Malaysian Election Commission (EC) has – understandably – come under scrutiny for its role in facilitating and sustaining these problems. However, what requires a greater level of attention is the question of how the EC – despite its position as a constitutional institution that exists independently from the other branches of government – has operated in ways that undermined Malaysia's democracy and maintained a dominant party regime for over six decades. This Article brings this to light by examining the structural, institutional, and political conditions that shape the EC's operation, particularly with regard to re-delineation of constituencies and the conduct of elections. It argues that flaws in constitutional design, along with subsequent constitutional amendments, have rendered the EC vulnerable to partisan capture and thus affected its ability to function as an independent constitutional institution. In addition, this Article demonstrates how changes in political imperatives and judicial restraint in reviewing the EC's decision-making have also contributed to the deficiencies in Malaysia's electoral democracy.

Governing Democracy Outside the Law: India's Election Commission and the Challenge of Accountability

Comparative law and politics literature widely recognizes the role of election management bodies (EMBs) in securing the well-being of constitutional democracies. Scholars have noted the political desirability of both independence and accountability of these institutions. But striking balance between these two values is easier said than done. This Article highlights the dilemma of accountability by focusing on India's Election Commission (ECI) as a paradigmatic version of a powerful EMB. Scholars of Indian politics have long noted the institution's widening powers – often beyond the original constitutional intent or parliamentary legislation – over the last few decades. This, they argue, has impaired its institutional accountability. This Article adopts a fresh perspective on the ECI's expansive functions, and the attendant concerns these raise. It argues that the ECI regulates the electoral process not through what we may ordinarily identify as the law. The most compelling and consequential of its functions are through extra-legal modalities of regulation. Drawing from recent scholarship on regulation, the Article argues that the ECI shapes the electoral environment and behaviour through non-legal modalities of architecture, nudge and notice-based regulations. Much like the other fields where they are deployed, these extra-legal modalities exhibit unique, and in many ways, inherent limitations with respect to transparency. It is thus this character of the ECI's functions – rather than only their widening breadth – that poses the most significant challenge for democratic accountability. Based on this assessment, the Article notes that for powerful EMBs like the ECI, accountability in the form of on-going operational accountability is inherently limited in compelling ways. This increases the stakes for accountability of these institutions through other means, particularly by securing their constitution, composition and tenure.

Sri Lanka's First Election Commission: Strengthening Electoral Management or Advancing Electoral Integrity?

The undisputed success of Sri Lanka's first Election Commission (2015–2020) was the conduct of free and fair elections, that is to say, electoral management. I argue in this article that, by design and in practice, it was unable to or failed to advance electoral integrity that is urgently required for the health of Sri Lanka's constitutional democracy. At critical points when electoral integrity and constitutional democracy were threatened, it was the Court, the traditional institutional check on the Executive and the Legislature, that prevented its further erosion. The Commission, therefore, was an institutional innovation that addressed symptoms of Sri Lanka's ailing constitutional democracy but not its root causes. The Commission has been a necessary but insufficient fix for the electoral pathologies of Sri Lanka's constitutional democracy. Its ‘guarantor’ function, as I illustrate in this article, is narrowly conceived, perceived and lived out.

Optimizing The Role of the General Election Commission in Realizing Democratic Elections in Indonesia

The mechanism for transferring people's sovereignty is carried out through general elections to elect leaders and representatives of the people who will be mandated to carry out state and government affairs in accordance with the provisions contained in the legislation. One of the interesting developments from the point of view of the Indonesian state administration began when Indonesia experienced a transitional period of general elections (elections) which are one of the main pillars of democracy. In Indonesia, the existence of an election management body has existed since the 1955 general election until now. In every course of political history, Indonesia has several different institutional models of election management from time to time. The General Election Commission in Indonesia it is called Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) is an institution that carries out the function of organizing elections in Indonesia. In addition to the KPU, there are institutions that also play an important role in the implementation of elections and are closely related to the existence of the KPU, namely survey institutions that carry out quick count processes. The survey institutions in a number of developing countries, especially those that are actively building democracy, are also not a little doubted by their moral honesty, at least being sued with a critical attitude such as the existence of a poll on the existence of a political survey institution, which has resulted in an attitude of uncertainty about the performance survey agency. This condition makes people less confident in the survey results which are considered no longer independent. It is proven that every time an election is held, a number of survey institutions seem to want to lead public opinion towards certain contestants. This is certainly very unfortunate considering that the survey results are one of the important instruments in democracy.

Electoral Manipulation Informationally on Hoax Production in 2019 Presidential and Vice Presidential Election in Indonesia

This research aims to explain the hoax phenomenon with the concept of electoral manipulation in the form of information on the holding of 2019 Presidential and Vice Presidential General Election. Hoax problems in elections are often found in several countries such as Venezuela, France, the United States, and Indonesia. This research is qualitative research by combining primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained through interview techniques with several institutions concerned about elections and hoaxes. Meanwhile, secondary data was obtained through literature, news, and documentation which support this research. As Alberto Simpser’s view in this research expresses, electoral manipulation aims to increase the influence of groups of political actors on citizens as voters. Electoral manipulation was seen as a tool to win the upcoming elections and as a tool to influence people's behavior - elites, citizens, bureaucrats, organizations, politicians, and others - with excessive and blatant manipulation seeming logical. Therefore, this research found that by linking hoaxes as a form of informational electoral manipulation, it is found that hoaxes do not only attack political opponents. However, hoaxes as a part of electoral manipulation in the form of information have implications for efforts to delegitimize public trust in electoral organizers, especially the General Election Commission (KPU).

Strengthening Supervision Government Internal Control System (SPIP) at The General Election Commission East Kalimantan Province

The purpose of this research is to know and understand specifically about the implementation of bureaucratic reform through the Grand Design 8 Bureaucratic Road Map, one of which will be examined, namely Strengthening Supervision through a form of system application called the Government Internal Control System ( SPIP) with its implementation at the Provincial General Electi on Commission Secretariat. East Kalimantan. This research was conducted to determine the extent to which this control system was successfully implemented at the General Election Commission of East Kalimantan Province with the technical implementation by the Government Internal Control System Task Force Team with a comprehensive assessment covering Gratification, Public Complaints, Conflicts of Interest, Integrity Zones, and SPIP itself. Research Methodology in the form of Qualitative Creswell using Phenom enological Data Analysis in the form of an understanding of experience about phenomena, the existence of philosophy and sociology, and interviewing informants as the owner of research sources who will provide statements, meanings, and general descriptions of experiences. The number of informants in the study was 14 (fourteen) people consisting of 13 (thirteen) people from the General Election Commission of East Kalimantan Province and 1 (one) person from the Inspectorate General of the General Elections Commission of the Republic of Indonesia.