Delhi Election: How to cast the vote using EVM and VVPAT

The Election Commission of India introduced Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Indian elections between 1998 and 2001. This initiative brought about a shift from the conventional system of paper ballot voting to the more sophisticated electronic voting.

Following charges by the opposition parties regarding the reliability of the EVMs, the Supreme Court directed the EC to include a paper trail to help ascertain the reliable operation of the EVMs. Hence the EC introduced Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) between 2012 and 2013 that will accompany the EVMs and will enable the voters verify their votes.

Voting during the upcoming Delhi assembly elections on 9 February 2020 will happen solely through EVMs accompanied by VVPAT verification procedure.

What are the features of EVMs

EVMs have ruled out the massive manual work involved in the counting of paper ballot votes which also consumed a lot of time. They also mark a move towards eco-friendly elections as the use of printed ballot slips has been completely eliminated. Some interesting features of the EVMs are given hereunder.

• EVMs come with an embedded feature to limit the vote casting rate to five per minute.
• They have a security lock close feature
• EVMs also store the electronic voting signatures and thumb impressions to confirm the voter’s identity.
• They feature once write read-only memory and are made with secure manufacturing practices.
• EVMs are battery powered and do not have any networking capability or wireless or wired internet components and interface.

What is the use of VVPATs

Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) provides feedback to the voters while a ballotless electronic voting system is deployed. VVPATs add a verification system to the EVMs by letting the voters verify if their vote was cast correctly. They provide a paper medium to store the votes in addition to the electronic system used by the EVMs. They also make it possible to arrange for a manual counting of votes if a recount is necessary in case of any arising disputes.

How to cast the vote using EVM and VVPAT

• Enter the polling booth and produce the photo voter slip and a valid ID proof.
• Your name on the electoral roll will be checked and you will be asked to sign on the register.
• The indelible ink mark will be applied on the nail of your left index finger.
• The polling officer will press a button to enable the ballot unit when you move into the polling compartment.
• Choose the name or symbol of the candidate of your choice and press the blue button against it.
• You will see the red light against the name or symbol of the candidate indicating that your vote has been casted.
• The VVPAT will give a print out of a ballot slip that will contain the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate for whom you have casted your vote. You can see the print out through the glass which will be visible for seven seconds. Then it will be cut and dropped inside the drop box with a beep sound. Note that the print out will not be given to you. In case you cannot see the ballot slip and if you happen to hear a loud beep sound, you can approach the presiding officer.