Why in news
The Supreme Court has decided to hear petitions seeking 100% cross-verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with vote counting according to Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
What is an EVM machine?
- The EVM machine, also known as an electronic voting machine, is an electronic device for voting in the Indian electoral process.
- The main objective of EVM is to make the voting process more secure, convenient, and faster. This machine consists of two main units: the ballot unit (BU) and the control unit (CU).
Ballot Unit (BU):
- A ballot unit is the part where voters cast their votes. It includes buttons with each candidate’s name and election symbol.
- The voter presses the button next to the candidate of his choice.
Control Unit (CU):
- The ballot unit connects to the control unit, which stays with the polling officer, via cable. This unit controls the voting process and stores all the data.
- The control unit has a display screen that shows the number of votes polled, and this unit counts the votes.
The role of electronic voting machines in the electoral process:
The EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) is an important technological device in Indian elections, which has made the voting process more secure and efficient. Some important aspects of EVM are described here:
Preventing booth capture: EVM has eliminated the problem of booth capture to a great extent. EVM machines allow only four votes to be cast per minute, slowing down the process of casting incorrect votes and making it more time-consuming.
Elimination of illegal votes: Illegal votes were a big problem on paper ballots earlier. The problem of invalid votes has been eliminated with the use of EVM, as it accepts only valid votes.
The use of EVM is environmentally friendly because it reduces paper consumption. India, with approximately one billion voters, saves paper and reduces environmental impact.
Administrative Facilitation: On polling day, EVM provides administrative convenience for polling officials. This makes the counting process faster and error-free.
- Before voting, EVMs are randomly allocated to booths.
- Before the actual voting begins, conduct mock polls to check the proper functioning of EVMs and VVPATs.
- At the time of counting, the serial number of the EVM and the total number of votes polled are shared with the agents of the candidates so that they can verify them.
- These measures ensure the integrity of the EVM and VVPAT processes and make the electoral process more transparent and credible.
Criticism
The doubts raised about the functioning of the EVM and its security concerns are as follows:
Grounds for Doubt: From time to time, political parties and civil society activists have raised various doubts about the functioning of EVMs. These doubts center on the fact that EVMs may be susceptible to some form of tampering or manipulation.
Hacking concerns: The EVM is an electronic device, and some people believe that it may be vulnerable to hacking.
However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that an EVM is a standalone device like a calculator that has no connectivity with any external device; hence, it is considered free from any kind of external hack.
Process for matching VVPAT slips: At present, the sample size for matching the EVM count with VVPAT slips is five per assembly constituency or segment.
This system is not based on any scientific criteria and may fail to detect faulty EVMs while counting.
Voter profiling and intimidation: The current process identifies voting behavior at the booth level, opening up opportunities for profiling and intimidation.
This process allows political parties to identify booths where their support is low, allowing them to profile voters and target these voters among their followers.
All these issues lead to controversies and discussions about the reliability and security of EVMs.
In response, the Election Commission has clarified several times that the structure and functioning of the EVMs are free from any external interference, but doubts remain.
What’s the history of the voting process?
Here is a brief explanation of the development and use of EVMs in India:
- The system for the first two general elections: Each candidate in the general elections of 1952 and 1957 had a separate box with his election symbol marked on it.
- Voters had to put a blank ballot paper in the box for the candidate for whom they wanted to cast their vote.
Changes from the third election: Voters stamp the candidate of their choice on ballot papers containing the names of the candidates and their symbols.
Introduction and development of EVM: EVM was first introduced in 1982 on a trial basis in the Paravur assembly constituency of Kerala. In 2001, in the assembly elections of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal, it could have been used.
Judicial Recognition: In various judgments, the Supreme Court has acknowledged the validity of the use of EVMs in elections. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections saw its use in all 543 constituencies.
Requirement of paper trail: In the 2013 case Subramanian Swamy vs. Election Commission of India, the Supreme Court ruled that a paper trail is a mandatory requirement for free and fair elections.
EVMs were supported by 100% VVPATs in all constituencies in the 2019 elections, ensuring further transparency and trust in the voting process.
This process has further boosted the relevance and importance of EVMs in elections, thereby reducing rigging and other voting-related problems in the electoral process.
What are the international practices?
The points given here relate to electoral processes and the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in different countries:
Paper ballots are still used in Western democracies like England, France, the Netherlands, and the United States. These countries have stopped using EVMs in national or federal elections after testing them for the last two decades.
Example from Germany: In 2009, the German Supreme Court declared the use of EVMs in elections unconstitutional.
The Court was of the view that the use of EVMs leads to a lack of transparency in the voting process and may be complex to understand for all voters.
Brazil Use: Brazil uses EVMs for its elections. This country is one of the few that has adopted EVM technology and is successfully implementing it.
Situation in Pakistan and Bangladesh: Pakistan has not used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Bangladesh used EVMs in some constituencies in 2018 but reverted to paper ballots for the 2024 general elections. The aim was to make the process more simple for voters.
Way forward:
Here are some important points about the reforms related to EVM and VVPAT:
Transparency and understanding: In a transparent democracy, every citizen should be able to understand and verify every step of the election process without any special technical knowledge.
Voter verification: The 100% use of VVPAT enables voters to confirm the accuracy of their recorded votes. This enhances their trust in the accuracy of the vote count.
Strength of the process: To make the electoral process more robust, 100% matching of EVM counts with VVPAT slips would have been experimentally impractical and complicated; hence, it is advisable to determine the sampling scientifically.
Steps in case of error: If by any chance even a single error is found, then a complete count of VVPAT slips for the concerned area should be done and form the basis of the results.
Voter confidence and security: This process will create statistically significant confidence in vote counting. To provide some degree of security for voters at the booth level, ‘totalizer’ machines can be used, and the candidate-wise count is disclosed before the votes are aggregated.