Registering a Vote : Sequence Diagram

The latest elections in 2013 were a success for some of the countrymen but a massive disappointment for others. Concluding whether the General elections of 2013 in Pakistan were rigged or not is controversial but what we do know is that the turnout for the elections still remain a disappointment. With a turnout of 55% in the recent elections, it would not be fair to conclude that the members sitting in the parliament were the choice of the nation. It was the choice of only half of the Pakistani’s eligible to vote supposing that the elections were free and fair in the first place. There is a great need to educate the people living in Pakistan to vote. Vote to make Pakistan a truly democratic country. A very important step would be to tell people what processes are involved in the act of registering a vote and casting it. I believe it would greatly increase the % turnout in the election if the people are aware of the processes involved in casting their vote as it would remove all the thoughts in their heads which hold them back from casting a vote.

 REGISTRATION PROCESS

You go to your nearest Office of Assistant Election Commissioner / Registration Officer located in your area.

Once at the office, collect a “Voter Registration Form” and fill it out in full. Basic information will be required as well as a Photocopy of National Identity Card as well as Proof of Residence – this includes any kind of utility bill (electricity, gas, water or telephone). Once complete, submit the form and you’re done.

For Overseas Pakistani’s
Overseas Pakistanis are allowed to be registered by their family, friends or relatives who live in the area of your residence in Pakistan. The process is simple roughly the same however please note! Any Citizen of Pakistan can get registered as voter anywhere in Pakistan and can cast their vote if he or she is in Pakistan during the time of elections. You must be in Pakistan to cast your vote!

AFTER REGISTRATION

• After you have submitted your registration form, in a few days confirm to make sure you are on the voter list!
• You can obtain the “Voter List” from the Assistant Election Commissioner/Registration Officer. Check to see whether your name is on the list.
• Once you have confirmed you are registered, you will be able to vote in the Federal and Provincial elections anytime
• You will be given a Voting ID assigned by the Election Commission of Pakistan

  

ELECTION DAY

On the Election Day, you visit the polling station assigned to you according to your residence. You present your voting ID and NIC to the returning officer who cross checks it with the voter ID’s provided to him and highlights the name of each voter as his name on the voters list is verified. The voter’s thumb is then marked with a special type of ink to prevent duplicate votes and is the voter is then headed into a private area where he secretly puts a stamp on the party he is voting for and then puts the ballot paper in the ballot box openly after which he leaves the polling station. That marks the end of your journey into the election.

The entire process was explained in detail but it would be more interesting to explain the entire process graphically. This is where the sequence diagram comes into play.

Sequence Diagrams are part of UML diagrams. They comes under Interaction model because they show the interaction and transaction between different entities. The arrowhead taking the message will point towards the receiver and away from the sender. The arrow returning the output will point towards the sender (of the command).The returning arrow is a dotted line.

The different entities represent the different actors in the scenario. The diagram itself is a timeline of the activities between the actors. The lifeline of the actors is represented by the vertical line passing through each actor and the horizontal line the activities involving the actors.

The entire process of an election including the part where we register the vote and cast it can be explained by the following sequence diagram:

This is a compact description of the entire process of an election and it can be very useful in educating the people of Pakistan and encouraging them to vote by providing them with valid information regarding the process of voting.

A sequence diagram can be useful in defining system specification of software solutions. It makes it easy to imagine the scenarios arising out of each situation and hence is very productive when it comes to chalking out software specifications.

What we learnt today:

• Using sequence diagrams to show the interaction between the actors in different scenarios.
• Applying sequence diagrams to show the processes involved in registering a vote and casting it.