Electronic Voting Machines - Remain Controversial
Election commission finds it hard to
maintain credibility, as controversy related to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)
does not seem to die. Political parties after elections in recent years have
accused at some places that tempering with EVM was done. The motive can be
reasonable or political, but it certainly takes away the faith of democratic
values.
Due to these controversies, Election
commission even kept an open challenge to temper with EVMs but none came in
front to temper with it.
The struggle did not end there, in an attempt to amplify their pitch against the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Opposition parties even sent a joint
memorandum to the Election Commission demanding that the machines should be
replaced at the earliest with ballot paper in months of 2018.
The parties, in a draft memorandum
circulated among the signatories, demanded that a physical counter check of the
paper trail and matching it with electronic vote should happen mandatorily in
at least 50% of all EVMs.
It is an implement able reform
without any additional cost, they argued.
They also demanded that in case the
difference of votes cast in favour of the winning candidates and the one coming
second is less than five %, then there should be mandatory counting of the Voter
Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in every polling station of that
constituency.
In the beginning of 2019, the applicant
Rajaak Khan Haider had sought an EVM from the Election Commission. The
Election Commission had rejected the application saying the EVMs held by it do
not come under the definition of “information”.
The result came in favour of the
applicant as, The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that
the EVM machine is information under the Right to
Information Act and directed the Election Commission of India
(ECI) to respond to appellant who had sought an EVM.
What is Electronic Voting Machine?
EVMs or electronic voting machines
provides the voter with a button for each choice which is connected by a cable
to an electronic ballot box.
An EVM consists of two units–control unit and balloting unit–and these two are
connected by a five-meter cable. When a voter presses a button against the
candidate, he/she wishes to vote for, the machine locks itself. This EVM can be
opened only with a new ballot number. This way, EVMs ensure that one person
gets to vote only once.
What was the case?
The applicant had approached Central
Information Commission with the argument that as per Section 2(f) and 2(i)
of the RTI Act, the definition of ‘information’ and ‘record’ also includes ‘any
model or any sample’ held by a public authority, calling the rejection as
wrong.
The Information Commission even though upheld these arguments noted the contention of Election Commission of India that the software installed on these machines is an intellectual property of a third party, the disclosure of which would harm its competitive position.
Section 8(1)(d) exempts information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.
The CIC did not give any view whether it was upholding or rejecting the EC’s position on commercial confidence leaving a grey area
Highlights of the Ruling
EVM can be demanded by an applicant from the Election Commission of India on payment of Rs 10. The Election Commission has to respond to an RTI application seeking the EVM either by providing it or refusing it under exemption clauses in the Act.
The verdict of the Election Commission
of India can be contested before the CIC, the highest adjudicating authority in
RTI matters.
When were EVMs first used in elections?
The use of EVM started back in 1982
Kerala Assembly elections. Prior to this only ballot papers and ballot boxes
were allowed.
Can EVM be tampered in India?
The only way an EVM can be tampered
with is by physically opening it up and replacing the chipset inside it.
The chipset used is non-reprogrammable and data is ‘burnt’ into the device. So,
today it is possible to replace the chip if we have access to EVMs.
Indian EVM’s do not have electricity,
or internet connectivity. The only thing which it has a chip, which is produced
in a government own PSU. EVM can be tempered only when it is opened and replace
the chip.
CHIPS can be replaced BUT ONLY IN LAB.
However, the truth is that EVM chip can’t be replaced just like that as
per election commissioner’s statement.
On the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper
audit trail) front too, there are reports of malfunctioning. Also, as per the
rules, paper ballots and VVPAT machines are not counted until the Returning
Officer asks for it.
Why is India using EVMs?
Using EVMs means doing away with paper
ballots, and in turn, saving millions of trees from being cut.
It makes the entire process of voting
simpler-a click on the button and your vote is registered. EVMs, in the
long-run, have turned out to be cost-effective as well. These machines don’t
require electricity and run on batteries. At the same time, the EVMs are
lighter and portable compared to the huge ballot boxes.
And most importantly, EVMs have made
the vote-counting process much faster, delivering results in hours as against
manual counting of votes which could take days.
Why to support EVM?
EVMs led to a significant decline in
electoral fraud, particularly in politically sensitive States as rigging
elections became extremely expensive.
Research has shown a link between
luminosity and growth rate, suggesting that EVMs contribute to development.
EVMs empowered those from the
weaker sections of society who were victims of political or electoral violence.
In particular, women, lower castes, and those less educated were more likely to
participate in the electoral process when EVMs were used.
EVMs made the electoral process more
competitive.
There has been a significant
decline in the incidence of re-election, and winning margins have reduced
dramatically. Less time-consuming process happens.
Arguments that are in favour of Paper
Ballot
Reliability of EVM can lead to the trust issue where people want the previous system to be applicable.
Disadvantage and Issues related
There are problems of paper ballot.
Transporting them and guarding them is a problem. Ballot boxes can be captured. Ghost voters who
did not exist voted for the parties. Credibility as election frauds and the
process is time consuming.
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