2024-04-27 10:54:55
The golden journey of electronic voting machines in India has reached such an extent that 55 lakh EVM machines are being used in the country in the Lok Sabha elections, 2024. At the same time, countries like America and Britain are still unable to muster the courage to conduct elections using EVMs.
New Delhi: It has been 235 years since America gained independence and today it is considered the most powerful democracy in the world. At the same time, Britain once ruled the entire world and today it is also a democratic and developed country. Even today elections are conducted in these countries using the old method. Even today no system of electronic voting has been made in these countries. These countries are so technically powerful and capable, yet they could not muster the courage like India. Today, in a huge country like India, elections are conducted entirely through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Recently a hearing was held in the Supreme Court regarding the reliability of EVM machines. In the petitions, an appeal was made to conduct voting through ballot paper instead of EVM. The Supreme Court rejected all the petitions demanding 100 percent matching of EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audible Trail i.e. VVPAT. The court also said that the source code of EVMs should not be disclosed, as there is a possibility of misuse.Voting is done through ballot paper in America and England
In America and England, there is a trend of voting through ballot paper. The citizens there suspect that EVMs can be hacked. Apart from postal ballot, there is a system of e-voting in America which is done through e-mail or fax. Technically a ballot form is sent to the voter. He fills it and returns it by e-mail or fax. In this, he marks the candidate of his choice on the ballot paper and sends his digital photo through e-mail or fax.
EVM is used in these countries of the world
The world is divided into many parts regarding EVMs. While in Europe and North America, voting is not conducted through EVMs, in South America and Asia, confidence in conducting elections through EVMs has increased. There are estimated to be 31 countries in the world where EVMs are used or studies are being conducted to conduct elections using EVMs. There are only 4 countries where EVMs are used at the national level. There are 11 countries where EVMs are used only in some parts. EVMs are being used as pilot projects in 5 countries. It has been banned in 3 countries. There are 11 countries where EVMs were used as a pilot project, they have stopped using them.
There is no trust in EVMs in big democratic and developed countries of the world.
Due to serious doubts about security, accuracy, reliability and authenticity, EVMs have not been able to win trust in many developed and democratic countries of the world. In countries like America, Britain, France, Germany, Norway and Australia, EVMs are either completely banned or their use is limited. Netherlands in October 2006 and Ireland and Italy in 2009 banned the use of EVMs. In 2009 itself, the Supreme Court of Germany had declared holding elections using EVMs as unconstitutional. The court believed that transparency in elections is the constitutional right of the people.
At the national level, EVMs are used only in 4 countries.
EVMs are used at the national level in countries like India, Bhutan, Brazil and Venezuela. Apart from this, it is used in Belgium, Estonia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Maldives, Namibia, Egypt, Nepal. The use of EVMs started in Brazil from 1995 and in Bhutan from 2017. At the same time, it started in Venezuela from 2004.
Use of EVM in some parts of these countries
In countries like America, France, America, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Japan, there is limited use of EVMs, that too only in some parts. At the same time, EVMs are used as a pilot project in countries like Russia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Ecuador. EVM was earlier used in Japan, but it was banned from 2018.
EVM is completely banned in these countries
There is a complete ban on the use of EVMs in Germany, Netherlands and Paraguay. At the same time, some countries first ran a pilot project and then banned EVMs. These countries are Philippines, Australia, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway and Britain. After some doubts and complaints, its use was banned in these countries.
The journey of EVM started in 1977 after the Emergency in India.
General elections were held in 1977, in which forced booth capturing was done in about 29 Lok Sabha seats of the country and ballot boxes were looted. The whole country was shocked. Then the Election Commission for the first time asked the Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad to develop a prototype of the voting machine. Shakdhar, who was the Chief Election Commissioner at that time, talked to the government about the use of electronic machines in elections. In 1980, ECIL made the first prototype of electronic voting machine and handed it over to the Election Commission. At that time, this electronic machine had 6 buttons, which were connected to 6 chips. Each button was related to an election candidate. However, only limited names of candidates could be registered in this machine. Then the Election Commission asked Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to make a voting machine in which the names of 64 candidates could be registered simultaneously. In April, 1981, the performance of this machine in front of the Election Commission was so excellent that the Commission gave approval to BEL to make such machines.
in India For the first time, EVMs were used in 50 booths, today 55 lakh EVMs are in the fray.
Peravayur was an assembly seat in Kerala, which attracted media attention then. Elections were held here in May, 1982. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used instead of traditional ballot paper at 50 of its 123 polling booths. Voting here was very peaceful and the EVM trial was completely successful. After this trial, EVMs were used in 10 more by-elections. With this, the journey of EVM machine in elections started. VVPAT was used for the first time in the elections in the by-election of Noksen assembly seat of Nagaland held on September 4, 2013.
Currently, the EVM machine records a maximum of 2000 votes.
In the EVMs being used in India, a maximum of 2000 votes can be recorded at a time. The Technical Expert Committee of the Election Commission and two government companies Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad have specially designed the EVM. The best thing about EVM is that it does not require electricity to operate. Because it already has a battery installed in it, which gives it backup. This is the reason why elections can be conducted with these EVMs even where there is no electricity system.
Voting can be conducted for 384 candidates simultaneously
There is a provision for 16 candidates in one ballot unit of EVM. If the number of candidates is more than 16, more ballot units can be used simultaneously. Earlier, by adding 4 ballot units, a maximum of 64 candidates could be added together. But now 24 such balloting units can be connected together, through which voting can be conducted for a maximum of 384 candidates including NOTA.
An EVM machine costs around Rs 35 thousand.
Voting machine has three main parts – Control Unit (CU), Balloting Unit (BU) and VVPAT. The Price Negotiation Committee of the government decides the prices of these parts. According to the Election Commission, the price of BU is Rs 7991, CU is priced at Rs 9,812 and the most expensive VVPAT is priced at Rs 16,132. The total cost of an EVM machine including a VVPAT is around Rs 35 thousand. An EVM lasts for at least 15 years. It is also claimed that the election process will be cheaper.
Questions on EVM were raised for the first time in India in 2009.
Questions were raised on EVMs for the first time in India in 2009. Subramaniam Swamy had objected to this. However, on the demand of political parties to ban EVMs, he later distanced himself from this issue. Recently, in the petitions filed in the Supreme Court, it was also said that voting should be done through ballot paper, which was rejected by the Supreme Court. The court said that this would be like going back from election reforms.
Can EVMs be hacked or reprogrammed?According to the Election Commission, EVMs are chip-based machines, which can be programmed just once. All data can be stored with the same program. There is no connectivity of this data anywhere. In such a situation, any kind of hacking or reprogramming in EVM is not possible. It is completely safe. Votes are stored in EVM by serial number. It is not stored on a party basis.