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EVMs criticism uncalled for

Young Bites. Dated: 12/14/2017 8:06:31 AM

Free and fair elections are cornerstones of democracy. In India, electronic voting machines (EVMs) were introduced with the objective of reducing electoral fraud. Introductions of EVMs led to a significant decline in electoral frauds, particularly in politically sensitive states which were subjected to frequent re-polls due to electoral rigging. t strengthened the weaker and the vulnerable sections of the society (women and the scheduled castes and tribe) who were now more likely to cast their vote. It made the electoral process more competitive whereby the winning margin and the vote share of the winning party declined. Using the luminosity data, we find that EVMs led to an increase in the provision of electricity. In an attempt to curb electoral malpractices, Electronic Voting Machines were introduced on a national scale by the Election Commission of India in the 1990s. Free and fair elections to choose political representatives are a cornerstone of a democracy and fundamental human right of citizens. Voting procedures play a significant role in the conduct of free and fair elections. They convert voters´ preferences into a political mandate, which in turn forms the basis for policymaking. In practice, however, illegal efforts to shape electoral outcomes in democracies are not uncommon. Over the years, the ECI has undertaken several security measures to curb electoral malpractices. The first attempt to abate electoral fraud was the introduction of the indelible ink in the 1962 Parliamentary election to prevent multiple voting. Use of photo identity cards for voter identification, deploying security personnel from other states, and conducting polls in multiple phases were a few among many initiatives that have been undertaken. The paper ballot system, in particular, posed significant security problems as forging was easy. It was also expensive and inefficient. To address frauds and to simplify the complicated electoral procedure the ECI introduced electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the late 90s. An important feature of the EVMs was that it could register only five votes per minute. This feature had significant adverse implications for electoral frauds as polling booths had to be captured for a longer period to rig elections, thereby significantly increasing the cost of booth capturing. Besides enhancing the fairness of the electoral process, the ECI also envisaged that EVMs would improve the efficiency of tallying the electoral results reducing the incidence of human error. Despite their advantages, the introduction of these machines was not smooth. EVMs used in India can record a maximum of 3,840 votes. Since the number of registered voters in a polling station does not exceed 1,500, the capacity of the machines is sufficient. Election officers, covering 10 polling stations on an average, carry spare machines and replace them in the event of malfunctioning. In the case of a breakdown, votes recorded until the machine went out of order remain safe in the memory of the control unit and it’s not necessary to start the poll from the beginning. The rate of failure of voting machines is less than 0.5%. These machines run on an ordinary 6-volt alkaline battery, therefore, can be used in areas without power connections.