Bangalore's Bowring Institute junks paper ballot, goes for EVMs

In a first, members of an elite club in the city cast their votes on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to elect its managing committee representatives instead of the traditional paper ballot system.

Members of the 145-year-old Bowring Institute on Sunday cast their votes on EVMs for electing the managing committee.

According to the managing committee of Bowring Institute, this is the first time in its history that it had used EVMs for its elections.

The introduction of EVMs, apart from ensuring that there is transparency, was chosen as it reduces the time taken for both casting the votes and declaring the results.

“In this system, there is no scope for any malpractice or rigging, which can occur  in a paper ballot system. So, I see no reason why we should not adopt this form of voting for electing the managing committee representatives,” a member told dna.

The EVMs were installed and supervised by the personnel of Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which is one of the two public sector undertakings, along with Bharat Electronics Limited, which designs the EVMs for the Election Commission of India.