EVM-VVPAT: History, controversy and how to vote

As India heads to polling booths to vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, here is all you need to know about the machines that will soon hold the answer as to who will govern the country for the next five years. .What started with paper ballots, voting in India has undergone many changes since its first general elections in 1951-52. Indian voters now cast their votes on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) which have been the subject of controversy ever since its inception. .HistoryThe EVM was first conceived in 1977 and a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Department of Atomic Energy, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad, was asked to design and develop it. A prototype was developed by 1979 and was demonstrated by the ECI before representatives of political parties the next year.Once a broad consensus was reached to introduce it, another PSU, Bharat Electronic Ltd. (BEL), Bangalore, was co-opted along with ECIL to manufacture EVMs.EVMs were first used in the 1982 Legislative Assembly election in Kerala. However, the absence of a specific law prescribing its use led to the Supreme Court striking down that election.Subsequently, in 1989, an amendment was passed by the parliament which inserted Section 61A in the Representation of the People Act 1951, which empowered the ECI to use EVMs.EVMs were rolled out to all parts of the country and since the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections EVMs are used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies..At the request of some political parties, the ECI started exploring the possibility of introducing a Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system to increase transparency and verifiability in poll process.In 2011, BEL and ECL made a prototype and demonstrated it before the ECI and its expert committee.After multiple field trials and fine tuning, in 2013, the ECI approved the design of the VVPAT and in August 2013, the Central government notified amended Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, enabling the ECI to use VVPAT with EVMs. VVPAT was used with EVMs for the first first time in a bye-election from 51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency of Nagaland..ControversyDoubt surrounding the robustness and security of EVMs has always been around. In 2009, when Congress was winning, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised questioned the reliability of the machines. In power at the Centre since 2014, the BJP now finds itself on the other side, defending the reliability of EVMs.Both parties, as well as other opposition parties, have slung accusations of EVM hacking over the past few years. However, the Election Commission has maintained that EVMs cannot be hacked and are far more resistant to fraud when compared to the paper ballot system. .These concerns were also the subject matter of several cases before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. One of the more significant of the cases was filed in 2013 by Subramanian Swamy and the Court held that paper trails were an essential requirement of free and fair elections. Subsequently, the Election Commission of India framed a manual on EVMs and VVPATs. This manual stipulated that one randomly selected polling station in each assembly segment or constituency shall undergo mandatory verification by tallying EVM votes with VVPAT slips.Later, in its 2019 verdict in N Chandrababu Naidu v. Union of India, the Supreme Court ordered that the the mandatory VVPAT verification be raised from one to five polling booths in each assembly segment. But the push for greater VVPAT verification has continued and every time elections are around the corner, allegations of EVM tampering and election fraud re-emerge. .It has been no different this time. .The most significant of the latest cases is a batch of cases seeking a thorough count of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in elections.Among other prayers, the Court has been urged to order that every vote cast through EVMs be tallied with VVPAT slips, as opposed to tallying only a fraction of EVM votes (that are randomly selected) with VVPAT slips. One of the petitions was filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms in 2023 but at the time, a bench of the top court asked if we are not being "over-suspicious" and refused to hear it on an urgent basis.Only a few weeks ago, after the election phases were notified, did the Supreme Court finally start hearing the petitions at length and today, just one day before voting begins in phase 1, the Court reserved its verdict on the matter. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta during the hearing today remarked that everything cannot be suspected and the petitioners don't have to be critical about each and every aspect of EVM.The bench did direct the ECI to examine allegations of EVMS malfunctioning and erroneously registering votes in favour of the BJP during mock polling in Kerala's Kasaragod.However, it also reiterated its previous sentiments of petitioners being "over-suspicious" and that allowing the prayers of the petitioners would be "a humungous task"..As things stand, India will be voting on EVMs and may have to be satisfied with the amount of VVPAT verification that is in place currently, something that the ECI calls the "Pride of Indian Elections"..How to voteThe EVM system has three components: a ballot unit, a control unit and the VVPAT. The ballot is to press the symbol, the control unit stores the data and VVPAT is for verification.Once you arrive at the polling location, the first polling officer will check your name on the voter list and your ID proof; the second polling officer will ink your finger, give you a slip and get you to sign on a register; and the third polling officer will take the slip and check that your finger has been inked properly.You will then proceed to the polling booth where you will record your vote by pressing the ballot button opposite the symbol of the candidate of your choice on the EVM. You will then hear a beep sound. You can press NOTA, None of the Above, if you don't like any of the candidates. That will be the last button on the EVM.A slip will appear in the transparent window of the VVPAT machine. You can check that the slip shows your chosen candidate's serial number, name and symbol. This will be visible for 7 seconds after which it falls into the sealed VVPAT box.