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The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions that seek cross-verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with paper slips generated through the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system. During the hearing, the court reminded the Election Commission of India that there must be sanctity in the electoral process and asked the poll body to detail the steps taken to ensure free and fair polls. The bench, consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta, emphasized the importance of maintaining the sanctity of the electoral process and reassured the public that nothing was being done to compromise it. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, the poll body's counsel, and election officials are in court to respond to the questions.
Advocate Nizam Pasha, one of the petitioners, has put forward an intriguing proposal. He suggests that a voter should be allowed to take the VVPAT slip after casting their vote and deposit it in a ballot box. This proposal, if implemented, could potentially enhance the transparency of the voting process. When Justice Khanna raised concerns about the impact on voter privacy, Mr Pasha responded, "Voter privacy cannot be used to defeat voter's rights." This exchange highlights the complex and important issues being discussed in the court.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan then said that the light on the VVPAT machine should remain on at all times, but it now stays on for only seven seconds. "One possible solution is if they can't change the glass at this stage, at least the light should remain on at all times, so I can see the slip cutting and falling. No privacy will be compromised."
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, also appearing for petitioners, said a separate audit would give the counting process greater credibility. Mr Bhushan cited a report on mock poll results in Kerala, where extra votes were recorded for the BJP. The court asked Mr Singh to explain this.
The election body explained the voting process, stating that the EVM's control unit commands the VVPAT unit to print its paper slip. The voter can view this slip for seven seconds before it falls into a sealed box. The machines are checked before polling in the presence of engineers.
When asked if the VVPAT printer had software, the election body replied in the negative. They explained that every PAT has a 4-megabyte flash memory that stores symbols. The returning officer prepares an electronic ballot, which is loaded into the symbol loading unit. This unit provides a serial number, a candidate's name, and a symbol. Nothing is preloaded; it's an image format.
The election body official stated that usually, only one Symbol Loading Unit is created for a constituency. It is in the custody of the Returning Officer until the conclusion of the poll. When asked if this unit was sealed to ensure no tampering, the Election Commission replied that no such process was currently in place.
All voting machines pass through the mock poll process, and candidates are allowed to pick up randomly 5% of the machines. The process is repeated on poll day, and VVPAT slips are taken out, counted, and matched. All machines have different kinds of paper seals, and when a machine arrives for counting, the seal number can be checked.
The election body provides demonstrations and runs awareness programs for voters to check if their vote has been cast. Voting machines get allocated to constituencies randomly, and no spurious unit can be connected to them. They will only recognize sister units.
The voting machines run on firmware, and the program cannot be changed. They are kept in strongrooms that are locked in the presence of political party representatives. Once polling is over, the machines are taken back to solid rooms, which are sealed in the presence of candidates. On counting day, the strongrooms are opened in the presence of candidates.
When asked if a voter could get a slip after voting, the election body replied that this would compromise the secrecy of the vote and maybe misused outside the booth. They added that the VVPAT paper slips are not meant for counting, as the paper is thin and sticky.
The VVPAT, or Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, is a system that allows voters to check if their vote has been cast properly and has gone to the candidate they support. It generates a paper slip that is kept in a sealed cover and can be opened in case of a dispute. Currently, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected EVMs in every Assembly segment are verified. Some
Opposition parties have raised questions and concerns about the EVM voting system and filed petitions for cross-verification of every vote.
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