VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER AUDIT TRAIL (VVPAT)

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(VVPAT)

Main Examination: General Studies Paper Second

(Politics and Governance)

Why inNews:

  • According to latest sources, dismissing concerns over credibility for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Election Commission is manufacturing new EVMs and VVPATs and scrapping old and obsolete machines.

Key Points :

  • According to sources, the 2024 Lok Sabha Election Commission has started manufacturing 8.92 lakh new VVPAT machines and is discontinuing 2.71 lakh old model machines.
  • Since checking of EVMs and VVPATs is a regular process that takes place after every election and defective or outdated machines are removed from the system.
  • According to sources, there is a specified protocol and procedure in place to ensure complete security during the movement of EVMs and VVPATs, in which all movements are recorded and labelled.
  • After every election, non-functional EVMs and VVPATs are analyzed as an integral part of enhancing the performance of EVMs and VVPATs to reduce replacement rates.
  • Defective VVPATs do not give incorrect results, but indicate a stoppage of functioning during the voting process.
  • In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 17.4 lakh VVPATs were installed and used for the first time in every polling station across the country.
  • After the elections, a detailed analysis was done by the Technical Expert Committee along with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, which concluded that some corrective actions were required to improve the performance of M3 VVPATs.
  • Government is sending 8.92 lakh new VVPATs manufactured by BEL and ECIL government companies to various states.
  • Manufacturing of EVMs is a complex process, with machines working in silos and working on different keys in different rooms.The keys come together only during the assembly of the machine and the EVM is assembled. It is impossible for those working on the machines to know which key will fit where and how it will come together.

About VVPAT :

  • Full form of VVPAT in English is Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail.
  • Sanjeev Chokshi invented VVPAT in 2010.
  • Natarajan was a scientist at ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Limited), where he worked with other scientists to create the VVPAT system
  • Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is a method of providing feedback to voters using EVMs.
  • With the help of this feature, a slip is made after casting the vote during the election of any voting machine. It is a printed independent verification machine attached to a voting machine. This slip indicates to the voter that his vote has been cast at the proper place i.e. in favor of the candidate of his choice. This slip can be used if any irregularity is found in the results during the counting.
  • The objective of VVPAT is to develop an independent verification system for voting machines.
  • After revising the rules for conducting elections in 1961, the Government of India allowed the Election Commission to use VVPATs instead of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) for elections on 14 August 2013. Election transparency has increased with the use of VVPAT. According to the Election Commission, VVPAT will be used only in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and future elections.
  • VVPAT is a smaller version of EVM. The manufacturing is done by two large Indian electronics businesses selected by the Election Commission. Bharat Electronics Limited manufactures VVPATs in Bangalore and Electronics Corporation of India in Hyderabad. These businesses also produce electronic machines for the armed services, such as the Indian Army, and voting equipment.

About EVM:

  • Electronic Voting Machine (also known as EVM) helps in carrying out the act of casting vote or counting of votes using electronic means.
  • EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) is made up of two units: Control Unit and Ballot Unit. These units are connected to each other by cables. The control unit of the EVM is kept with the Presiding Officer or Polling Officer.
  • For the first time in India, the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) started in 1982 from Kerala.

Functioning of VVPAT:

  • When a voter uses a VVPAT machine to cast his vote, the machine generates a printed slip. The party's symbol is voted for and the name of the candidate is printed on this slip. With this feature, the voter can be certain that his vote was cast for the candidate of his choice. This slip is displayed on the glass cover of this machine for about 7 seconds after the voter casts his vote. The slip is then created and placed in the dropbox of the machine. When the slip is dropped into the dropbox, a buzzer is displayed. Only the poll worker knows the specific controls of this device. As a result, no one else can control it.

Importance and need of VVPAT:

  • VVPAT helps in detecting possible electoral fraud or malfunction in the Electronic Voting Machine.
  • It provides a means of auditing stored electronic results. This serves as an additional barrier to altering or destroying votes.
  • EVMs with VVPAT system ensure accuracy of voting system with full transparency and restore the confidence of voters.
  • EVMs and VVPATs also speed up the election process as counting of votes on EVMs takes very less time as compared to paper ballots.
  • Ballot papers were used in India's first elections after independence. Later, significant flaws were found in the system, which fostered corruption and could be fatal to democracy. Then came the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Here you can learn more about Electronic Voting Machines. It has been used for elections. Many political parties of the country are once again discussing the use of VVPAT system for elections in the Election Commission.

Conclusion :

  • The practice of EVM/VVPAT has been a controversial topic in the country. Many parties and activists have also been expressing their disbelief for conducting elections through these electronic devices.
  • Use of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail system has increased over time because it has proven to reduce fraud and create more accurate voting results. VVPAT also increases transparency and prevents manual counting errors, thereby providing quicker results.

 

Source: Indian Express

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Mains Exam Question

In the context of 'the practice of EVM/VVPAT has been a controversial topic in the country', explain the importance and necessity of VVPAT.