Why in News?

• Election Commission of India (ECI) is conducting elections in UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa. Voters cast their vote through electronic voting machine (EVM).

About EVM

• An electronic voting machine (EVM) is a portable instrument for the purpose of conducting elections to the parliament, legislature and local bodies like panchayats and municipalities.
• EVM is a microcontroller-based instrument designed to modernise the election procedure.
• There is no scope for invalid votes and total secrecy of voting data is maintained.
• It also facilitates quick and accurate counting.
• The voting data recorded in EVMs can be retained for years and can be extracted if necessary.
• The EVM is designed for a single post and a single vote.
• EVMs were used for the first time in the Goa State Assembly elections of 1999.

Background of EVM

• With a view to overcome certain problems associated with use of ballot papers and taking advantage of development of technology, the Commission in December, 1977 mooted the idea of EVM.
• The law was amended by the Parliament in December, 1988 and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowering the Commission to use voting machines.
• The amended provision came into force w.e.f. 15th March, 1989.
• Central Government appointed the Electoral Reforms Committee in January, 1990 consisting of representative of several recognized National and State Parties.

How to use EVM?

• A voter needs to press the button against the candidate of his/her choice and then a red light glows against the symbol and name of the candidate for whom the vote has been cast. Simultaneously, a long beep can be heard, which confirms the polling of a particular vote.

Working Module of EVM

• An EVM consists of a control unit, balloting unit and a VVPAT connected together by a cable.
• The control unit belongs to a polling officer while the balloting unit is kept in a compartment to cast votes.
• EVMs can even be used in areas with no electricity, as they can be operated on alkaline batteries.

Technical Security of EVMs used by ECI

• The machine is electronically protected to prevent any tampering/manipulation.
• The programme (software) used in these machines is burnt into a One Time Programmable (OTP)/Masked chip so that it cannot be altered or tampered with.
• Further these machines are not networked either by wire or by wireless to any other machine or system. Therefore, there is no possibility of its data corruption.
• The software of EVMs is developed in-house by a selected group of Engineers in BEL and ECIL.

Uniqueness of ECI-EVMs

• ECI EVMs are Stand alone Machine.
• Most of the systems used in other countries are Computer based with internet connectivity. Hence, these could be vulnerable to hacking.
• The software in the ECI-EVM chip is one time programmable (OTP) and burnt into the chip at the time of manufacture.
• Nothing can be written on the chip after manufacture. Thus the ECI-EVMs are fundamentally different from the voting machines and processes adopted in various foreign countries.

VVPAT

• Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent system attached with the Electronic Voting Machines that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended.
• When a vote is cast, a slip is printed on the VVPAT printer containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate and remains exposed through a transparent window for 7 seconds.
• This printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in sealed drop box of the VVPAT.