INTRODUCTION

This month, India is embarking on the world's largest democratic exercise, with nearly 100 crore eligible voters.. The elections will decide the fate of 543 contested seats in the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, for a term of five years. To secure power, a party or coalition must obtain a simple majority of 272 seats. India follows the first-past-the-post system, involving voters casting a single vote for a candidate in a constituency, with the candidate receiving the most votes winning the seat.

EVM

About: EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) enables anonymous voting and has replaced paper ballots in Indian elections, both at the state and national levels, ensuring a secure and efficient voting process.The use of EVM started back in 1982 Kerala Assembly elections.

Working: The EVM comprises a control unit and a balloting unit connected by a 5-metre cable. The control unit, operated by the polling officer, activates the balloting unit where voters cast their secret ballots by pressing buttons against their chosen candidate's name and symbol.

Use:  Powered by a 6-volt single alkaline battery, the EVM can operate in areas without electricity.

Security measures

• EVMs undergo stringent security measures akin to those employed by the Reserve Bank of India for cash transportation. 

• Only two Indian PSUs, Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), manufacture EVM machines. Directly transported from the factory to district administration offices, they are stored in secure strong rooms. 

• Prior to presentation to political party representatives, BEL/ECIL engineers conduct thorough checks, with strict restrictions on mobile phones and cameras.

•  Mock voting is conducted using 5% of EVMs, with computerised randomization and additional rounds during candidate setting and on election day. 

• After polling, EVMs are sealed, monitored by CCTV, and placed under 24-hour security in strong rooms, with candidates allowed to affix their seals.             

VVPAT

About: Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is a machine, which is attached to the ballot unit (BU) of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)  which prints out a slip of paper with the voter’s choice indicated on it.

Working; The VVPAT machine visually confirms a voter's choice by printing a slip with the candidate's details. This slip is displayed for 7 seconds behind a glass window for verification before being stored in a compartment below.

Use: Voters are not allowed to take the VVPAT slip home, as it's used to verify votes in randomly selected polling booths. This physical verification enhances trust in the voting process for both voters and political parties.

Counting of VVPAT Slips: The Election Commission initially mandated the counting of VVPAT slips from one randomly selected polling station per Assembly constituency, later increased to five stations per constituency after a Supreme Court ruling in April 2019.

Introduction of VVPAT

Proposal and Development: The idea of VVPAT emerged in 2010 during a meeting between the Election Commission (EC) and political parties to enhance transparency in the polling process.Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL), manufacturers of EVMs, developed a prototype after the matter was referred to the Technical Expert Committee by the EC.

Field Trials and Approval:Field trials were conducted in various locations including Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi, and Jaisalmer in July 2011.After refining the design based on feedback from trials and political parties, the expert committee approved the VVPAT design in February 2013.

Implementation and Phased Introduction:Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 were amended in 2013 to allow for the attachment of a printer with a drop box to the EVM.The first usage of VVPATs occurred in all 21 polling stations of the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013, leading to a phased introduction. From June 2017 onwards, 100% of VVPATs were deployed in elections, culminating in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections becoming the first general election with all EVMs attached to VVPATs.

Property and other Disclosures by Candidates

• Supreme Court Mandate of 2002:  In May 2002, the Supreme Court established voters' rights to access crucial information about candidates, including criminal history, education, and financial details.This landmark judgement aimed to empower voters to make informed decisions during elections.

• Legislative Response:Despite the Supreme Court's directive, the Central Government attempted to limit disclosure requirements through an ordinance in August 2002.This ordinance introduced penalties for non-disclosure or false disclosure and sought to restrict candidate disclosures to specific details outlined in the Act.

• SC Upholds Disclosure Norms: On March 13, 2003, the Supreme Court invalidated the contentious sections of the ordinance, reaffirming the importance of transparent candidate disclosures.Following this decision, the Election Commission of India reissued guidelines to ensure compliance with the court's ruling and uphold transparency in electoral processes.

• SC Ruling of 2024: The Supreme Court ruled that candidates need not disclose minor movable assets unless they're significant or relevant to their candidacy. Despite arguments for voters' absolute right to know, the court refused to mandate full transparency for candidates.

Who can vote?

•  All citizens aged 18 and above who are in the electoral roll, hold the right to vote in various elections, including national, state, district, and local government body elections.

• Registration in the respective constituency is mandatory for obtaining a Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC), without which participation in the electoral process is not permitted. 

Who can't vote?

• A person who is not a citizen of India cannot be registered in the electoral rolls.

• Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, states that individuals confined in prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation, or in the lawful custody of the police, are not permitted to vote in any election.

• Those citizens who have been declared by the law that they are unstable to vote or barred due to corrupt practices or any illegal act relating to elections are not entitled to be a voter.

NOTA 

About: NOTA (None Of The Above) was introduced in 2013 by a Supreme Court directive based on a 2004 public interest litigation filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

Symbol : The NOTA symbol (Ballot paper with a cross)  was designed by the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad after receiving feedback from villagers, including those below the poverty line and semi-literate voters, who associated the cross sign with rejection. Cleared by the Election Commission, the symbol was used for the first time in 2015.

Implementation: The 2014 Lok Sabha polls marked the first national elections where the NOTA option was available. Before NOTA, voters could express their decision of not choosing any candidate under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, but this compromised voter secrecy.

Rationale: The Supreme Court envisioned that the introduction of NOTA would encourage political participation among voters and would prompt political parties to be more discerning in their candidate selections.

Validity: ECI had clarified that the votes polled by pressing the NOTA buttons on the EVMs would not be considered valid. Even if the NOTA button polls most seats, the next human candidate is declared as elected.

Exception: In August 2018, the Supreme Court barred the NOTA option in Rajya Sabha elections, emphasising that these elections operate on an open ballot system. The ruling suggested that NOTA could legitimise members' abstention from transferring excess votes, potentially violating party agreements.

Global Adoption: At least a dozen other countries have a NOTA or negative vote option, from France and Spain in Europe to Brazil and some states in the United States. In the neighbourhood, Bangladesh has a NOTA option as did Pakistan in 2013, after which it was discontinued.

CONCLUSION

India's electoral process, marked by the use of EVMs, VVPATs, and the NOTA option, exemplifies the country's commitment to transparency and accountability. With stringent security measures and technological advancements, India ensures the integrity of its

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Elections VVPAT EVM