Seven Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines develop snag during Mizoram polls

Altogether seven VVPAT machines developed technical snag during polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram today, election office sources said.

By VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) mechanism, a voter can confirm whether his/her vote cast through the Electronic Voting Machine has gone to the candidate of his/her choice.

While three VVPAT machines developed problems during mock poll before the actual polling early in the morning, four more machines were found to be not functioning after the actual polling began at 7 AM, the sources said.

Engineers of the Bharat Electronics Limited, manufacturers of the machines, were sent to repair them.

The state election department was using VVPAT in 385 polling stations across 10 Assembly segments within Aizawl city limits, all the eight district headquarters and other major towns.