Awareness Programme on EVMs and VVPATs

Context:

The Election Commission of India (ECI) begins a nationwide awareness programme on EVMs and VVPATs ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election.

Reach: The programme includes outreach and awareness activities in 3464 Assembly Constituencies spread across 613 Districts in 31 States/UTs.
State Chief Electoral Officers need to start a focussed awareness campaign approximately 3 months prior to the announcement of election.The campaign shall have three components:
- EVM Demonstration Centers (EDC)
- Mobile Demonstration Vans (MDV)
- Digital outreach

- Design: It comprises two units: the control unit and the balloting unit.
  - These units are joined together by a cable. The control unit of the EVM is kept with the presiding officer and the balloting unit is kept within the voting compartment for electors to cast their votes.
- History: It was used in 1982 Kerala elections on a pilot basis and The 2004 Lok Sabha election was conducted completely using EVMs
- Legal Sanction: Section 61A was included in the Representation of the People Act 1951, empowering the ECI
- Manufacturer: Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), Bangalore, a Defence Ministry PSU, was elected along with ECIL to manufacture the EVM.

EVM

EVM Machine

- It is a system attached to EVMs and works by printing a paper slip containing the serial number, name, and symbol of a candidate for whom a vote has been cast.
- After being visible for seven seconds through a transparent window, the printed slip is automatically cut and drops in.
- It was first used in the Noksen constituency in Nagaland in 2013 and used at an all India level in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
- VVPAT machines can be accessed by polling officers only.

EVM

VVPAT Machine

People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, (2013): NOTA option included in the EVMs to enable the voters to exercise their right of not to vote while maintaining their right of secrecy.
Subramanian Swamy v. Election Commission of India, (2013): Supreme Court held that “paper trail” is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections paving the way for the introduction of VVPAT
N. Chandrababu Naidu v. Union of India, (2019): The SC held that 5 VVPAT per Assembly Constituency or Assembly Segments in a Parliamentary Constituency would be verified manually.