Twitter
Advertisement

In upcoming HP, Gujarat polls, results from one VVPAT from each constituency will be tallied with EVM results

EC mandates that the VVPAT counting booth be enclosed in a wire mesh like that of a bank chasier cabin to ensure that no VVPAT slip is accessed by unauthorised people

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Paper slips generated out of a total of 250 Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machines (VVPAT) will be subjected to “mandatory verification” in the upcoming state assembly elections to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Simply put, paper slips from at least one VVPAT machine from each assembly constituency will be tallied with the results recorded the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The Election Commission of India has decided to conduct this verification on a pilot basis on one VVPAT machine from each of the assembly constituencies, mainly to allay apprehensions surrounding the allegations of tampering of the EVMs.

Himachal Pradesh will vote on November 9 to elect 68 legislators for its state assembly, while the Gujarat will also go to polls shortly after to elect 182 MLAs. One VVPAT machine from each of these 250 constituencies will be used to conduct the physical verification of the paper slips generated by these machines.

VVPAT machines are connected to the EVMs and generate an immediate paper trail once the vote is cast. Once generated, the paper slip, containing the name and symbol of the candidate one voted for, is visible through a glass for seven seconds before it gets deposited in a compartment within the machine. This slip can be used to resolve any dispute regarding the election at a later date.

One polling station per assembly constituency will be randomly selected for this pilot verification of VVPAT paper slips and the verification exercise will be taken up after the completion of the last round of counding of votes recorded in EVMs.

The Election Commission has mandated that the verification of VVPAT paper slips will be done in a “VVPAT Counting Booth” which will be specially prepared for this purpose inside the Counting Hall. “The booth shall be enclosed in a wire mesh just like a bank cashier's cabin so that no VVPAT paper slip can be accessed by any unauthorised person,” the EC has said.

It was earlier this year that the EC had decided to tally paper trail slips with the results of EVMs in five percent of polling stations in each assembly seat for all state and Lok Sabha elections.

The introduction of this mandatory verification of VVPAT paper slips is likely to cause a slight delay in the announcement of poll results.

Earlier, there was no mandatory tallying of VVPAT slips with the EVM results. It used to be done only when results of a polling station were disputed by a candidate or polling agents on the counting day.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement