Electronic Voting Machine
ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE
1.
What is an Electronic Voting Machine?
It is a simple electronic device used to record votes in place of ballot papers and boxes which were used earlier in conventional voting system.
2.
What are the advantages of EVM over the traditional ballot paper/ballot box system?
(i) It eliminates the possibility of invalid and doubtful votes which, in many cases, are the root causes of controversies and election petitions.
(ii) It makes the process of counting of votes much faster than the conventional system.
(iii) It reduces to a great extent the quantity of paper used thus saving a large number of trees making the process eco-friendly.
(iv) It reduces cost of printing almost nil as only one sheet of ballot paper required for each Polling
Station.
3.
Apart from India which are the other countries that use EVMs in elections?
Bhutan used the Indian EVMs for the whole country during their last elections. These machines were also used by Nepal for some of their constituencies during the last general elections in the country.
4.
When was the EVM introduced in India?
It was first used in 1982 in the bye-election to Parur Assembly Constituency of Kerala for a limited number of polling stations (50 polling stations).
5.
What are the unique features of Indian EVMs?
It is a simple machine that can be operated easily by both the polling personnel and the voters. It is sturdy enough to withstand rough handling and variable climatic conditions. Being a stand alone machine without any network connectivity, nobody can interfere with its programming and manipulate the result. Keeping the erratic power supply position in many places in the country, the machines have been made to run on batteries.
6.
What was the necessity to switch to EVM from ballot paper election?
Counting of Ballot papers at an election used to take long hours creating a charged atmosphere for the counting officials as well as candidates/political parties. Sometimes this was
1.
What is an Electronic Voting Machine?
It is a simple electronic device used to record votes in place of ballot papers and boxes which were used earlier in conventional voting system.
2.
What are the advantages of EVM over the traditional ballot paper/ballot box system?
(i) It eliminates the possibility of invalid and doubtful votes which, in many cases, are the root causes of controversies and election petitions.
(ii) It makes the process of counting of votes much faster than the conventional system.
(iii) It reduces to a great extent the quantity of paper used thus saving a large number of trees making the process eco-friendly.
(iv) It reduces cost of printing almost nil as only one sheet of ballot paper required for each Polling
Station.
3.
Apart from India which are the other countries that use EVMs in elections?
Bhutan used the Indian EVMs for the whole country during their last elections. These machines were also used by Nepal for some of their constituencies during the last general elections in the country.
4.
When was the EVM introduced in India?
It was first used in 1982 in the bye-election to Parur Assembly Constituency of Kerala for a limited number of polling stations (50 polling stations).
5.
What are the unique features of Indian EVMs?
It is a simple machine that can be operated easily by both the polling personnel and the voters. It is sturdy enough to withstand rough handling and variable climatic conditions. Being a stand alone machine without any network connectivity, nobody can interfere with its programming and manipulate the result. Keeping the erratic power supply position in many places in the country, the machines have been made to run on batteries.
6.
What was the necessity to switch to EVM from ballot paper election?
Counting of Ballot papers at an election used to take long hours creating a charged atmosphere for the counting officials as well as candidates/political parties. Sometimes this was