Allegations of EVM-tampering: All you need to know about the Electronic Voting Machine

A lot has been spoken about the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines after the BJP formed government in four out of the five states that went to polls. While AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and BSP’s Mayawati alleged tampering with the EVMs in the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh elections, Congress’ Harish Rawat alleged rigging in the Uttarakhand assembly elections.

In 2009, Subramanian Swami and GVL Rao alleged that the EVMs had been tampered with after the Congress party came back to power. A petition was filed with the Supreme Court, Along with the ECI, the Supreme Court, while dismissing Rao’s petition, observed that the petitioners could approach the Election Commission in the matter. Similar petitions were filed before three High Courts in the country – the Madras High Court, the Bombay High Court and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur bench). The Bombay High Court, too, dismissed the petition.

The Election Commission of India issued a release showcasing how the EVMs were tested. “One hundred EVM samples were obtained on random basis from ten states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. These were kept at the Commission’s office in readiness for scrutiny and for any application to establish its alleged fallibility.”
With questions regarding the credibility of EVMs, here’s all you need to know, as answered by the Election Commission of India.

What are EVMs?

An Electronic Voting Machine is a device used to count votes. It has been regularly used since the 1999 general elections.

What is the machine made of?

An Electronic Voting Machine consists of two Units – a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit – joined by a five-meter cable. The Control Unit is with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the Ballot Button. This will enable the voter to cast his/her vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice

How can EVMs be used in areas where there is no electricity?

EVMs run on an ordinary 6 volt alkaline battery and therefore can be used even in areas without any electricity.

EVMs cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. What will happen if the number of contesting candidates in a constituency goes beyond 64?

In case the number of contesting candidates goes beyond 64 in any constituency, EVMs cannot be used in such a constituency. The conventional method of voting by means of ballot box and ballot paper will have to be adopted in such a constituency.
 

Can booth-capturing be prevented by the use of EVMs?

Booth capturing by taking away or damaging ballot boxes or ballot papers cannot be prevented if EVMs are used, as the machines can be taken away or damaged.
However, if one looks at booth capturing as a case of miscreants intimidating the polling personnel and stamping the ballot papers on the symbol and escaping in a matter of minutes, this can be prevented by the use of EVMs. The EVMs are programmed in such a way that the machines will record only five votes in a minute.
 

What are the advantages in using EVMs?

The biggest advantage is that the printing of millions of ballot papers can be dispensed with, as only one ballot paper is required for fixing on the Balloting Unit at each polling station instead of one ballot paper for each individual elector. This results in huge savings by way of cost of paper, printing, transportation, storage and distribution. Secondly, counting is very quick and the result can be declared within two to three hours as compared to 30-40 hours, on an average, under the conventional system. Thirdly, there are no invalid votes under the system of voting under EVMs. The importance of this will be better appreciated, if it is remembered that in every General Election, the number of invalid votes is more than the winning margin between the winning candidate and the second candidate, in a number of constituencies. To this extent, the choice of the electorate will be more correctly reflected when EVMs are used.
 

Is it possible to vote more than once by repeatedly pressing the button?

No. As soon as a particular button on the Balloting Unit is pressed, the vote is recorded for that particular candidate and the machine gets locked. Even if one presses that button further or any other button, no further vote will be recorded. This way the EVMs ensure the principle of "one man, one vote".
 

In the conventional system, it will be possible to know the total number of votes polled at any particular point of time. In EVMs ‘Result’ portion is sealed and will be opened only at the time of counting. How can the total number of votes polled be known on the date of poll?

In addition to the ‘Result’ button, there is a ‘total’ button on EVMs. By pressing this button the total number of votes polled up to the time of pressing the button will be displayed without indicating the candidate-wise tally.
 

How can one rule out the possibility of recording further votes at any time after close of the poll and before the commencement of counting by interested parties?

As soon as the last voter has voted, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the ‘Close’ Button. Thereafter, the EVM will not accept any vote. Further, after the close of poll, the Balloting Unit is disconnected from the Control Unit and kept separately. Votes can be recorded only through the Balloting Unit. Again the Presiding officer, at the close of the poll, will hand over to each polling agent present an account of votes recorded. At the time of counting of votes, the total will be tallied with this account and if there is any discrepancy, this will be pointed out by the counting agents.