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VVPAT counting will become the norm, sooner or later

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mark blake

The Election Commission’s reported decision to not count any of the paper receipts produced by the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines attached to EVMs in the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections may not pass muster. Earlier the EC had discussed the possibility of a 5% ceiling on counting VVPAT trails and mandatorily counting paper trails from not less than 5 and not more than 14 polling stations in each constituency. It should go ahead with this plan.

The plan to roll out 100% VVPAT in all elections to follow was met with near universal approval. It reassured voters and candidates of a safety net in view of worries about EVM security. It silenced those like the Aam Aadmi Party which alleged that EVM tampering had sabotaged its chances in the Punjab assembly elections. The decision to postpone tallying the paper trail count to EVM count was purportedly necessitated by the need to ensure that the roll-out of 100% VVPAT is a success. Additionally, there is a lack of clarity on the delays in the counting and result declaration process because of VVPAT counting. However, candidates who wish to dispute the election outcome can still demand a count of VVPAT machine.

However, both grounds are tenuous. The roll-out of 100% VVPAT has nothing to do with counting of the paper trails. Both happen on different days. Moreover, it is only a small percentage of votes that are counted. If the VVPAT machine malfunctions the election can’t go ahead anymore. Secondly, delay in counting due to paper trail counting is a non-issue. No one will have problems waiting a few more hours for official declaration of results after days and weeks spending waiting for election and counting day.

An election process which is unassailable is sine qua non especially after recent controversies involving EVMs and the videotaped demonstration of an EVM machine with VVPATs in Madhya Pradesh which allegedly spit out only BJP votes. The return to manual counting of votes is certainly a return to old ways of doing things for the EC. It must factor in the views of opposition parties in both states before ruling out VVPAT counting.  Ultimately, it is the reality of the fractious times we live in that EVMs will not get a free pass anymore. Though no body could hack the EVMs in response to the EC challenge, India is a country where myths and beliefs endure even though the facts don’t support it. The bogey of EVM vulnerability has been created. And so the EC has no  option but to prove EVM’s fidelity every single time henceforth

 

 

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