On the Issues with EVMs – EVMs are reliable

Source: This post on the Issues with EVMs has been created based on the article “EVMs are reliable” published in “Indian Express” on 1st December 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Indian Polity – Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

News: This article discusses the concerns raised over the electoral process in India, especially with regard to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). It also suggests steps which can be implemented to restore public trust in the election process.

Before the vote count in the recently held Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, accusations of wrongdoing were raised. A video showing officials sorting ballot papers from the Balaghat election strongroom has emerged.

Public debates, suspicion and court cases show that public trust in electronic voting is not as high as it should have been, and the ECI needs to address this.

What are VVPATs?

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (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, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls into a sealed drop box. If there is a need, these printouts can later be counted.

More on VVPATs can be read here.

What are the concerns raised over the working of EVMs?

Complexity of EVMs: Establishing the correctness of a complicated system like EVM is very difficult. If the correctness of an EVM cannot be proved, it is impossible to predict whether an EVM can be hacked or not.

No Inherent Guarantee that the vote is cast, recorded and counted correctly: In some cases, votes are recorded electronically in the absence of VVPAT. In this case, there is no way to guarantee that the vote is cast as intended, recorded in the EVM correctly and counted properly as recorded.

Inadequacy of Testing: It is also well known that testing is never adequate to establish the correctness of an EVM. Tests can detect only a small fraction of possible software or hardware errors.

Issues with VVPAT: VVPATs should be truly voter-verified, electronic and VVPAT tallies should be cross-checked against each other, and there needs to be a definite rule in case of a tie-break if the cross-check fails. The ECI’s current VVPAT system is not truly voter-verified (it does not provide the necessary agency to a voter), and there is no principled method for dispute resolution.

Lack of verifiability by a common man: A common man cannot verify the accuracy of EVMs, without special knowledge or certification from experts (as accepted by a German Constitutional Court in 2009)

Arbitrary Procedures: The current stipulation of auditing 5 EVMs per assembly constituency is without any statistical basis.

What should be done?

Changes in the VVPAT Protocol: The correct VVPAT protocol would be to allow a voter to approve the VVPAT slip before the vote is finally cast, and to provide an option to cancel the vote if a discrepancy is noticed.

Risk-Limiting Audit (RLA): These are standard and well-established methods for cross-checking the electronic tally with VVPAT counts. RLA limits the risk that the reported outcome in an election contest is incorrect.

Mechanization instead of Manual Processes: If required, independent systems of mechanised sorting and counting of VVPATs may also be set up.

ECI should ensure public trust in elections by making the election process publicly verifiable.

Question for practice:

Free and fair elections are the bedrock of India’s vibrant democracy. However, experts have argued that recent allegations regarding the flaws in EVMs have led to a decline in public trust in the election process. Discuss the various issues and suggest steps to tackle the same.