Supreme Court VVPAT Judgement- Explained Pointwise

Recently, the Supreme Court VVPAT judgement reposed the faith in the integrity of the current electoral process involving the use of VVPAT and EVM. The Supreme Court has rejected a plea for 100% verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count.

What is the recent Supreme Court VVPAT Judgement?

1. No change for the Voter and Voting process- Voting will continue to take place using EVMs, with 100% of the machines attached to a VVPAT unit. Moreover, as per the existing provisions, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected Assembly constituencies or segments would be counted to verify with the count of the EVMs.

2. Storage of symbol loading units (SLUs) – The SC has directed the EC to adopt some new post poll procedures. The supreme court has given directions to the EC to seal and store the symbol loading units (SLUs) for 45 days after declaration of results.

Note- SLUs are memory units that are first connected to a computer to load election symbols onto it, and then used to enter symbols of the candidates on the VVPAT machines. These SLUs are to be opened, examined and dealt with in the same way as EVMs.

3. Candidates can seek verification of the EVMs- SC has enabled candidates to seek verification of the EVMs. Candidates coming second or third can ask for a verification of the burnt memory semi controllers in 5% of EVMs per Assembly segment of each Parliamentary constituency.

4. EC to examine the feasibility of counting VVPAT slips using a machine- SC has nudged the EC to examine the feasibility of counting the VVPAT slips using a counting machine. VVPAT slips can have a barcode printed on them for enhancing the counting speed.

What is the history of Introduction of EVMs and VVPATs in India?

Introduction of EVMs- EVMs were introduced for the first time for conducting general election in Kerala in May 1982. In 2004, in the General Election to the Lok Sabha, the EVMs were used in all 543 Parliamentary Constituencies in the country.

Introduction of VVPAT- In Subramanian Swamy Case (2013), the SC directed the Election Commission to introduce VVPAT in EVMS in a phased manner for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and asked the Centre to provide funds for procurement.

What are the advantages of EVM and VVPAT?

Advantages of EVM

1. Cost effective- Eliminates need for production and printing of ballot papers. EVMs have led to a substantial reduction in expenses in terms of transportation, storage, and recruiting counting staff.

2. Elimination of booth capturing- EVM has eradicated booth capturing. It has limited the rate of vote casting to four votes a minute and has thus significantly increased the time required for casting false votes.

3. Increased Administrative convenience in conducting election- EVMs provide administrative convenience for the polling officers on the day of the poll and has made the counting process faster and error-free.

4. Time effectiveness- It has reduced the time taken to conduct elections and declare the results in India.

Advantages of VVPAT

1. Enables vote verification- VVPAT provides instant feedback to voter that vote polled has been allocated to the intended candidate, thereby enabling vote verification mechanism.

2. Direct Recording Election System (DRE)- VVPAT operates under a Direct Recording Election system (DRE) which detects fraud and existent malfunctions in the election system.

3. Greater transparency to the electoral process- VVPAT enables authorities to count the votes manually in case of dispute in the electronically polled votes. This gives both the voters and political parties an assurance regarding electoral sanctity.

What are the challenges associated with EVMs and VVPAT?

Challenges with EVM

1. Hacking susceptibility- EVMs being electronic devices are vulnerable to manipulation and hacking. The legitimacy of the results is compromised if electronic voting machines are tampered with, undermining the electoral process as a whole.

2. Limited Transparency- EVM source code is confidential and not available for public inspection. It is challenging for individuals and independent specialists to evaluate the security and dependability of EVMs due to a lack of transparency in their design and operation.

3. Inadequate Security Measures- The voting process can be compromised by unauthorized access, physical manipulation, or cyberattacks, which could produce unreliable results.

Challenges with VVPAT usage

1. Small sample size being used- Currently, the sample size for checking EVM counts with VVPAT slips is five per assembly constituency/segment. This is not based on scientific criteria and may not detect faulty EVMs during counting.

2. Technological glitches- There are challenges of malfunctioning of VVPATs due to extreme weather conditions and sensitivity to light. There are also other challenges like paper jamming, running of ink, running out of battery.

3. Voter intimidation- The counting of voting slips using VVPAT assembly wise can result in identification of booth-wise polling behavior by various political parties. This may result in profiling and intimidation.

4. Storage concerns- There are concerns associated with the safe storage of VVPAT machines and their proper integration with EVM machines.

What should be the way Forward?

1. Addressing lacunae in VVPAT technology- Measures like making VVPAT independent of battery, the usage of sustainable inks and reducing its sensitivity to heat and light, must be urgently taken to make VVPAT more reliable.

2. Evolving a proper statistical method for counting- A proper statistical method should be deployed for while deciding on the required proportion of tallying V-VPAT with EVMs.

3. Increasing the reliability of VVPAT- The VVPAT protocol should be updated to offer an option for voters to cancel their vote if they observe any discrepancies.

4. Open-Source Code Review- Openness should be promoted by allowing the general public to see the source code of EVMs. This will make it possible for impartial specialists to evaluate the technology’s accuracy and security.

5. Risk-Limiting Audit (RLA)- These audits can be carried out for cross-checking the electronic tally with VVPAT counts. This proactive approach will help in maintaining the integrity of the voting process.

6. Public Awareness and Education- Public must be educated on EVM technology, security measures, and steps for a transparent electoral process to build crucial confidence in electronic voting systems.

Rather than moving to paper ballot system of election, the focus should be on improving the efficiency, credibility and transparency of the EVM-VVPAT enabled electoral process.