And one on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM)

As an officer who has conducted multiple elections during my time in the IAS, I often encountered the question, “What about EVMs?” The losing party frequently questions the integrity of EVMs, calling for their replacement with paper ballots.

Conspiracy theories about the manipulation of EVMs are common. Recently, Elon Musk wrote on X, "Electronic voting machines and anything mailed in is too risky. We should mandate paper ballots and in-person voting only." While this comment was about the US Presidential Elections, similar concerns have been raised regarding Indian elections. In this article, I share my perspectives on the positives and negatives of EVMs.

A typical Lok Sabha constituency has 10-15 lakh voters, with each polling station catering to around 1000 voters. Therefore, a constituency would use 1000-1500 EVM machines. Each EVM is a standalone machine and is not connected to any server, providing a strong safeguard against hacking, as manipulating so many EVMs is challenging.

One of the strongest safeguards is randomization. Until late into the election process, no one knows which EVM will be assigned to which constituency or polling station. Randomization occurs at every stage. Initially, EVMs are moved from central godowns to district-level godowns in the presence of political parties, who are given the list of EVMs. Subsequent randomization determines which machine will be used in each constituency, with the final allocation to specific booths occurring just two days before the election.

At each stage of randomization, a random sample of machines undergoes mock polling in the presence of political party representatives. Early-stage mock polls may involve 1000-1500 votes to test maximum capacity. This process is tedious, often making it difficult to find political party agents willing to participate.

EVMs recognize candidates based on their assigned slots, not their names or party symbols. For example, Candidate A of a party may occupy the top slot in one constituency, while Candidate B of the same party may occupy the third slot in another constituency. Central hacking attempts would fail as EVMs are programmed with candidate sequences roughly 21 days before polling.

By this time, EVMs are stored in district godowns, with candidates and political parties remaining vigilant. The presence of political party agents is mandatory before opening or sealing any EVM godown. These godowns are monitored 24/7 by CCTVs and central paramilitary forces, with designated seating for party representatives to observe the godown and CCTV footage.

To enhance transparency, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) has been added to all EVM machines. When voters vote, they see a paper trail in the VVPAT machine showing the candidate they voted for. A small number of these VVPAT counts are then verified against the EVM votes to ensure accuracy.

Young voters might not remember the era before EVMs when booth capturing was common. Goons would seize a booth for a few minutes and cast all the ballots. With EVMs, casting a single vote takes nearly a minute, making such malpractice difficult. In the past, vote counting could take 4-5 days, with many ballots discarded due to incorrect stamping. This issue is eliminated with EVMs.

EVMs are not without flaws. Battery drainage or other malfunctions can stall voting. Reserved EVMs and extra batteries are kept in a designated office, overseen by an officer who responds to such issues. Occasionally, reserved EVMs are found in someone's home, typically due to an officer resting at home rather than the designated office.

The only significant downside of EVMs is the reduced voting secrecy at the booth level. Previously, ballot boxes were mixed before counting, so parties couldn't determine their votes at specific polling stations. Today, with 700-800 voters per booth, parties can easily ascertain their vote count in each area. With some permutation combination, it is possible to guess which families voted, or did not do so for them.

No other major democracy uses EVMs, but no other major democracy is as large as our country. They also do not have the challenges of electoral malpractice we have. Indian democracy and the electoral process may have flaws, but EVM certainly isn't one of them. 

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