Introduction :- 

An EVM consists of a "control unit" and a "balloting unit". The control unit is with the Election Commission-appointed polling officer; the balloting unit is in the voting compartment into where voter casts her vote in secret It runs on a single alkaline battery fitted in the control unit, and can even be used in areas that have no electricity. They are manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

History of EVMs in Indian Elections :-

• EVMs were 1st used in 1982 Kerala Assembly elections (by-election).
• However, SC struck down the election since Representation of People Act, 1951, and Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, did not allow use of EVMs.
• RP Act 1951 was amended in 1988 to allow usage of EVMs.
• In 1999, they were used for the 1st time in the entire state for Goa Legislative Assembly elections.
• In 2004, EVMs were used for the 1st time in Lok Sabha elections.

Recently, there have been controversies surrounding EVMs regarding their safety feature.

Safety Features within EVMs :-

• Non-reprogrammable: It consists of an integrated circuit (IC) chip that is one time programmable (software burnt at the time of manufacturing) and cannot be reprogrammed.
• No external communication: EVMs are not networked by any wired or wireless system, nor do they have any frequency receiver and data decoder, so there cannot be any external communication. Control Unit (CU) accepts only specially encrypted & dynamically coded data from Ballot Unit (BU).
• Other countries like Netherlands and Germany (which discontinued the use of EVMs) use computer based EVMs which are prone to hacking, while Indian EVMs are standalone machines.
• Secure Source Code: Software and source code developed in-house by selected group of engineers in BEL and ECIL.
• It allows a voter to cast the vote only once. The next vote can be recorded only after Presiding Officer enables the ballot on CU.
• Time stamping of votes: EVMs are installed with real time clock, full display system and time-stamping of every key pressing so there is no possibility of system generated/latent votes.
• Secure against post-manufacturing tampering: The machines with self diagnostics shut down automatically in case of tampering.
• There are also various procedural checks and balances (Standard Operating Procedure) like functional checks, trial run, random allocation, multi-stage testing, dry run and safe & secure storage post voting, included for ensuring free and fair elections.

Arguments for going back to ballot system :-

• In terms of the three pillars of free and fair elections (transparency, verifiability and secrecy) the EVMs face following issues- Not transparent: An electronic display of the voter’s selection may not be the same as the vote stored electronically in the machine’s memory. To bridge this gap, VVPATs were introduced.
• However, EC’s VVPAT auditing is restricted to one randomly chosen polling booth per constituency, which will fail to detect faulty EVMs 98%-99% of the time.
• Not verifiable: Only the vote number can be verified and not the voting choice.
• Not secret: With the paper ballot, the EC could mix ballot papers from different booths before counting, so that voting preferences could not be connected to a locality. Counting in EVMs is equivalent to booth-wise counting, which allows one to discern voting patterns & renders marginalized communities vulnerable to pressure.
• Possibility of hacking: Accusations of EVMs getting hacked or even the possibility of them being hacked creates a mistrust about electoral processes in the minds of the public.
• Malfunctioning EVMs: Though provided with specific training for correct usage of EVMs, officers sometimes don't pay attention & connect machines in wrong order.

Arguments in favor of continuing with EVMs

• Ease of use and accessible: EVMs are found to be easy to use, even by illiterate voters who just need to recognize the symbols of the parties. It’s also vitally important that everyone who is eligible to participate in elections can do so. And electronic voting is very good at making voting more accessible, meaning it’s easier for disable people to vote independently.
• Safe and secure: The instances of booth capturing, rigging and stuffing ballot boxes with ink have been checked by the use of EVMs. Further, the EVMs in itself is a secure machine which is highly improbable to be hacked.
• Faster results and build trust: For other countries, particularly large ones like Brazil, India and the Philippines, electronic voting and electronic counting means that people can get official election results within hours, instead of weeks.
• Completely auditable: One of the reasons our electronic voting system has been praised so highly is that it’s designed around the idea that all parties, citizens and election commissions are able to audit the electoral process at every stage, including before an election has even begun.
• Other benefits include elimination of the possibility of invalid and doubtful votes which, in many cases, are the root causes of controversies and election petitions. Also, it reduces the use of paper during the elections.

Way Forward :-

While there have been cases of “malfunction” (which suggests a technical defect), there has not been any case of proven “tampering’” (manipulation aimed at fraud). In 2017, EC even held an ‘EVM Challenge’, where it invited political parties to demonstrate/proof any allegations of tampering.