Indian Statistical Institute submits report on VVPAT to Election Commission

Indian Statistical Institute submits report on VVPAT to Election Commission

1. The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) has submitted its report to the Election Commission on the number of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine slips that should be matched with Electronic Voting Machine(EVM) results to enhance voters confidence. At present, VVPAT slips in one randomly chosen polling station per constituency are tallied with EVM results.
2. The report comes in the backdrop of Opposition parties demand to increase the number of polling stations where EVM and VVPAT results are matched to dispel fears about electronic voting machines being ‘hacked’ to favour a particular political party. Parties have said that at least 50% paper trail slips per constituency be counted to ensure there is no rigging.
3. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent system attached to an EVM that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. When a vote is cast, a slip is printed on the VVPAT printer containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate voted. This remains visible to the voter through a transparent window for seven seconds. Thereafter, the printed slip automatically gets cut and falls into a sealed drop box.
4. EVMs are electronic voting machines which enable the voter with a button for each choice. It is attached by a cable to an electronic ballot box. It comprises of two units – control unit and balloting unit. The control unit is with the Election Commission selected polling officer while the Balloting Unit is in the voting section into which the voter enters to cast their vote.
5. Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is an academic institute of national importance as recognised by a 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by P C Mahalanobis in Presidency College, Kolkata. Established in 1931,this public university of India is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions focused on statistics.