CREDIBILITY OF EVM: WHAT ARE THE KEY TAKEAWAYS?
"Voting is not only our right—it
is our power." - Loung Ung
The controversy over electronic voting machines is not on the verge of ending. No party in the country has not pointed fingers at EVMs. Surprisingly, even those leaders who have achieved tremendous success in the elections are opposing EVMs now or have done so in the past. Be it the President of Rashtriya Janata Dal or the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Apart from these two, the Aam Aadmi Party, the party which won strongly in Delhi, is also demanding a ban on the use of electronic voting machines. For some, if they win the election, the EVM machine is correct and if they lose, they feel that the machine has been tampered with. After BJP's victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister of Assam had also raised questions on EVMs.
Why EVM Matters in India
EVMs prevent the undemocratic influence of muscle power in the electoral process. India's electoral history shows that before the use of EVM machines, elections held at different levels across the country were affected by incidents like attacks on polling stations, and stuffing of votes in ballot boxes, and these attacks were carried out by anti-social elements who would work for political parties. To overcome these mishaps and acts of miscreants, the use of EVMs is required. In India, elections have been conducted with the help of ballot papers for many years, but this process was very expensive, slow, opaque, and not environment-friendly. Therefore, the Election Commission of India decided to switch to EVMs.
It was believed that the process of counting votes using EVMs has been robust and simple. With the use of EVMs, incidents of fake voting and booth capturing have been reduced to a great extent. Illiterate people find EVMs easier than the ballot paper system. EVMs are easier to transport from one place to another than ballot boxes. EVMs have become the cornerstone of the world's largest democratic voting operation.
History of EVM
In the year 1988, the election law was amended and section 61A was included in it. A provision was made in this section that the Election Commission can conduct voting through EVMs.
Let us understand how it began. The Election Commission had given the task of making EVMs to the Electronics Corporation of India in the year 1977. In 1979, ECIL introduced the prototype of EVM. In August 1980, the Election Commission issued instructions to political parties for its use. For the first time in May 1982, assembly elections in Kerala were conducted using EVMs. However, the elections were cancelled after it was challenged by the Supreme Court.
EVMs were used for the first time in all 543 constituencies in the country in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was introduced in 2013 to improve transparency and verification in the voting process. In the same year, a separate option – None of the Above (NOTA) was provided in EVMs to allow voters to say, they 'do not like any candidate'. However, the doubts of political parties about EVMs are not ending.
EVM issue: An explicable puzzle
Often the opposition has been raising concerns about tampering with the EVMs. It is alleged that there is an error or fault sort of in these machines. But the party, during whose government EVM was introduced, now opposes it. The issue of EVM has become an inexplicable puzzle. In 2006, when the Election Commission had called a meeting of all parties on using EVMs, no one opposed it.
But, on the contrary, this process is becoming more challenging. Now questions are being raised on the authenticity of these machines. Often, parties that lose elections raise questions about whether these machines can be hacked. Doubts are always being expressed regarding the use of technology in these machines. This is a matter of concern because it bears the weight of our democratic selections.
Countries using EVM
It is very interesting to note that different trends have been observed in different regions of the world regarding the use of EVMs. On the one hand, some countries in Europe and North America are moving away from the EVM system, on the other hand, South America and Asia are showing interest in EVMs.
Based on an estimate, the latest survey report states that 31 countries have used EVMs, but only 4 countries have used them in their election systems. Eleven countries used EVMs in some parts or minor elections. Five countries are using it on a pilot basis.
India has provided EVM-related technical assistance to Jordan, Maldives, Namibia, Egypt, Bhutan and Nepal. Among these countries, Bhutan, Nepal, and Namibia are using electronic voting machines made in India.
EVM hacking-proof: Claim of EC
On every occasion, the Election Commission has stated that these machines are hack-proof. Sixteen lakh EVM machines are used in Indian elections and a maximum of 2000 votes are cast in each such machine. These machines made in India run on batteries. As a result, these machines can operate even in areas where electricity is not available. However, the Election Commission believes that if the machines are not properly calibrated then defects can be found in them.
EVMs have become the most important part of the election process in India. India's election system is being praised in the world. While on one hand, many parties have raised questions on this, many have also appreciated it. Demand for EVMs has increased in Pakistan elections. Pakistani opposition and the general public are talking about bringing EVMs to their country. The President of Pakistan said that if there were EVMs in Pakistan, there would not have been rigging in the elections.
Need a culture of trust: SC
The Supreme Court says they cannot control the elections, everyone will have to trust the Election Commission for data. The Election Commission has said in an affidavit to the Supreme Court that it has taken stringent technical and administrative security measures for the EVMs so that the machines cannot be tampered with or manipulated to any extent whatsoever. Furthermore, the Election Commission affidavit said that there was no fundamental right of the voter to verify through VVPAT that their vote was 'recorded as cast' and 'counted as recorded.
Keeping this in view, a comment of the Karnataka High Court is worth mentioning. The Court, while giving its verdict on one such anti-EVM petition, had said that this invention is undoubtedly a great achievement in electronic and computer technology and a matter of national pride. The message is clear. It would be better if all political parties also agreed to the same on EVMs.
This issue is also heated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Supreme Court on Friday rejected all the petitions demanding VVPAT verification. The petition filed demanding ballot paper has also been rejected. The Supreme Court has rejected all the doubts and questions raised on EVM. SC has made it clear that voting will not happen through ballot paper but only through EVM. To know more about VVPAT (Voter Verification Paper Audit Trial), visit https://www.eci.gov.in/evm/
A growing body of research says that contrary to what the conspirators claim, EVMs have largely strengthened democracy and helped improve development outcomes by empowering the poor. A recent research paper from political scientists Zuheer Desai and Alexander Lee of the University of Rochester analyzed data from three Lok Sabha elections, showing that the switch to electronic voting in India has virtually eliminated illegal votes.
What do you think about EVMs? Do share your comments below.
Your views on EVMs cover all aspects but still I am taking this opportunity to add some more facts about the question "Can Indian EVMS be hacked?" (Copied from somewhere).
ReplyDeleteMost EVMs around the world are essentially generic microcomputer systems which can do multiple functions or tasks.
The Indian EVMs can only be used for voting and nothing else. Hence there is only one single program that runs in it, and that is for voting only. So, introducing a bug in the form of another program is not possible.
It is important to note that the one BU can be used with one distinct CU only. If you take the CU from polling booth A and connect it to the BU from polling booth B (from a different constituency), then obviously, you can show that `a button press for Party X results in a vote for Party Y’! This is a clever hack shown by some people. In reality, mixing BUs and CUs does not happen.
Now, let’s get technical. The chips used inside the EVM are one-time programmable only. It is not possible to reprogram them to suit needs.
Many argue that even in a small voting program, it may be possible to introduce malicious code! But wait, the program for the EVM are written by engineers and scientists of BEL/ECIL, and these companies have strong source code audit processes to ensure no malicious code can be inserted. This program is also reviewed separately by an independent group of experts (TEG).
All chips used in the EVM hardware are standard, off the shelf components. No specific chip is fabricated for the EVM. So even the chip manufacturers cannot possibly know which chip will be used where! Further, there are code testing techniques which check whether the original source code has been altered.
Lastly, Prior to the actual polling by the public, a series of mock polls are also conducted, usually in the presence of representatives from political parties. Only if they are satisfied (and sign for the EVMs), the machines are proceeded further.
But can the EVMs be tampered with, while in storage before or after the polling day? Well, no. The EVMs are stored in strong rooms with a single door only. The rooms are locked/unlocked in the presence of the contesting
On the day of the polling (before 7 in the morning or so), a fresh mock poll is conducted in presence of the contesting candidates to ensure that no tampering has happened.
When the voter presses the polling button for the desired candidates, a BEEEEEP sound is heard for 12 seconds. During this time, the BU cannot register any more votes, and the voter will have to leave the ballot box within that time. This is done to prevent multiple votes from the same person. This means, not more than 5 people can cast their vote per minute! This is a slow, but secure process
On the day of counting, random checks are done for machines to tally the total number of votes counted by the CU, checked manually against the VVPAT slips. Till date, not a single discrepancy has been found.
The Indian EVM is designed by Indian engineers and experts, and we should be proud of it.
Agreed. I liked your response that EVM is completely fool-proof and there is no scope for tampering in it. Also, we should feel proud that EVM has been made by Indian engineers and experts.
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