Plans to connect national voter registry with ID database trigger privacy concerns in India

According to Bloomberg, India’s lower house of Parliament has approved legislation aiming to link electoral registries with its nationwide digital identity database, known as Aadhaar, which uses biometrics and a unique number to track individuals. The government of Narendra Modi argues that the changes to the existing electoral law are designed to address the problem of fraudulent voting. Privacy advocates strongly challenge this plan, as linking Aadhaar details to voting rights could compromise the secrecy of elections and challenge the independence of the electoral process.