Digital push cuts election paper use by 80%, signals greener poll process

Chennai Tamil Nadu’s electoral process is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation, with digital technologies sharply reducing the dependence on paper during elections. Officials say the integration of mobile application-based systems has streamlined operations while making the process more environmentally sustainable. Fresh data from the Election Commission highlights the scale of this shift. The use of A4 sheets, once a staple of polling documentation, has witnessed a steep decline over successive elections. From around 41 lakh sheets used in both the 2011 and 2016 Assembly polls, consumption dropped dramatically to 8.73 lakh sheets in 2021. This reduction is largely attributed to the introduction of mobile applications that enable real-time data entry and transmission.