EVMS AND BALLOT PAPERs   ELECTION CONCERN

Author:  Bhaskar Kumar, 2nd year Law  student at New law college, Pune

ABSTRACT

For the past several years elections in India have been conducted by e- devices which known as EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) due to the use of EVMs the election process has become very fast, transparent and cost -effective . This paper contained very depth knowledge about EVMS and advantages of EVMs in election and why the EVMs are better than Ballot papers in election .The paper also discusses the limitation of ballot papers in election and what are the differences between the Indian EVMs and International EVMs. In this paper the reader also know why it is hard to hack Indian EVMs as compared to International EVMs. The paper also discusses about difference cases which was filed in Supreme Court of India against the use of EVMs in elections. After reading this paper, the reader will gain detailed knowledge about EVMs and whether Indian EVMs can be hacked or not.

INTRODUCTION 

We live in a democratic country where every people have right to choose government by their own choice this right was given by the constitution .In every democratic country election is regarded as very important part because it play a very vital role in the development of the country .In India the first general election were held between 25 October  1951 and 21 February 1952.At that time ballot papers were used in the elections .But in today’s world where people depended on e – devices for almost everything , election where also held by e- devices such as Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs).The concept of the (EVMs) was first developed in the United States . The first EVM was used in 1964 in a municipal election in New York . In India EVMs  were  1st used in 1982 by – election in Paravur (Kerala) and in 1999 1st time EVMs were used in state election in Goa. In India ,electronic voting with EVMs is the norm for conducting elections .Bharat  Electronics and the state owned Electronics Corporation of India created the system for the Election Commission of India .The EVMs which used in other country are connected with internet , WIFI , Bluetooth etc. but the Indian EVMs are different from international EVMs because Indian EVMs are not connected with any extra network and other  connectivity . The uses of EVMs in India were continue from 2014 Lok sabha election from that time the election in India were conducted by EVMs and the use of ballot papers are stop by the Election Commission of India . The use of EVMs make the election process very fast and also save the time and efforts .  However despite all this political parties are continuously opposing the use of EVMs in elections and many political parties are demanding that the use of ballot papers be reinstated for conducting elections. Many PILs have also been filed in the Supreme Court against the use of EVMs in elections.

WHAT IS EVM

An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a tool utilized for facilitating electronic voting during elections. It is a dedicated electronic instrument created to capture votes precisely and safely. EVMs are utilized to substitute conventional paper ballot systems in numerous countries globally.

An EVM generally comprises a control unit along with a balloting unit. The control unit is handled by an election official, overseeing the voting procedure, while the balloting unit is utilized by voters to submit their votes. The balloting unit is linked to the control unit via a cable.

The EVM functions via a series of buttons or icons that signify various candidates or political parties. Voters select the button or symbol corresponding to their preferred option, and the vote is captured electronically. The EVMs are equipped with security features to deter tampering and guarantee the accuracy of the voting process.

ADVANTAGES OF EVMs

There are various ways in which EVMs are useful in conducting elections such as:

. EVMs minimize human mistakes in vote counting and also reduce the possibilities of illegitimate vote. 

. EVMs makes voting system faster due the uses of EVMs  votes can be counted quickly which leads to faster result as compared manual counting .

.  EVMs make the election environment friendly it reduces the use of papers in election because of which many trees are saved 

 . We saw many cases of booth capturing in election but after the starting of using EVMs in election this type of case are stopped because it is harder for individuals to manipulate EVMs due to secure designs and locking mechanism.

. EVMs are made to precisely record votes. They lower the possibility of errors in the vote-counting process by doing away with the errors that come from manually counting and interpreting paper ballots.

. The quantity of invalid votes can be decreased with the aid of EVMs. Voters are guided by built-in measures that stop them from casting additional or invalid votes, such as under or overvoting.

. The voting procedure is transparent thanks to EVMs. In order to enable voters to confirm their selection, they usually feature a display screen that shows the chosen candidate or party before to the vote being cast. Voters’ trust in the validity of their ballots is increased as a result.

LIMITATIONs OF BALLOT PAPERs

The use of Ballot Papers in elections are eliminated by the Election Commission of India because of their various cons such as:

. The use of ballot papers require a high cost because printing , transporting and storing ballot papers is expensive .

. The ballot papers are also time consuming because the voters need more time to mark on their choice on papers and the counting of votes on ballot papers also take long time as compare to EVMs .

. The use of ballot papers also have environmental impact because it requires cutting down of trees for paper production , and in India where the no. of voters are very large it requires large scale of paper production which adversely impact the environment 

. The use of ballot papers also made human errors in vote counting and double marking and unclear marking by voters leading to invalid votes, this types of errors are not shown in EVMs .

. Ballot stuffing is a common malpractice where extra ballot papers are added in boxes.

. Ballot papers can make proxy voting easier as compare to EVMs .

CAN INDIAN EVMs CAN BE HACKED 

Indian EVMs are standalone devices and not connected with any outside network which make it highly vast to hack Indian EVMs .

. Non-Network System : The potential of remote hacking is eliminated because Indian EVMs are not linked to the internet or any other external network .

. Design and Simplicity : EVMs have little software and hardware which lowers vulnerabilities because they are independent any attempt to tamper with them necessitates having physical access to the machine .

. Thorough testing : EVMs are protected with tamper proof seals and go through several testing phases conducted by the election commission of India .

. VVPAT Integration : Transparency has increased when the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system was implemented. Voters can confirm their selection with VVPAT adding another degree of security and confidence.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDAIN EVMs AND INTERNATIONAL EVMs 

. Indian EVMs are standalone devices and non –networked devices , Indian EVMs are not rely on internet or  any other wireless communication system which make difficult to hack and temper the Indian EVMs. 

. The Indian EVMs are manufactured by government controlled entities Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (EICL).

.  Indian EVMs are hardware based  which is not easy to hack and tamper .

.  The Election Commission of India use (VVPAT) Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail for transparency and verification.

.  The Indian EVMs are designed for large scale elections which involve millions of voters.

. International EVMs are very complex to use because of their higher technological system, the features of International EVMs are complex because in some countries they use EVMs which have touch screen , language options , and multi- candidate displays which require higher literacy and knowledge for voters to understand the system of EVMs and cast their votes.

. International EVMs are also connected with internet and other wireless communication system such as Bluetooth , WIFI , etc which , makes it easy to hack and tamper as compare to Indian EVMs .

. The international EVMs are manufactured by by private entities and it is very costly due to their advanced features and technology .

. The international EVMs are software based which is easy to hack and tamper as compared to Indian EVMs .

IMPORTANT CASE LAWS 

Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India (2013)

This was a civil appeal challenging a ruling made by the Delhi High Court. The petitioner Subramanian Swamy, a past Law Minister, requested the Court to direct the Election Commission of India to implement a system of “paper trail/paper receipt” in EVMs.

The Supreme Court determined that a paper trail is an “essential” necessity for free and fair elections and that the VVPAT system is the means to provide transparency. The Court also mentioned that this would create practical challenges for the ECI. Consequently, it was advised that the system be implemented in “incremental phases or regionally” during the 2014 General Election. The Court also instructed the Government of India to offer necessary financial support for acquiring VVPAT units.

Kamal Nath v. Election Commission of India 

The 2018 case of Kamal Nath v. Election Commission of India In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the petitioners requested random VVPAT verification in ten percent of the votes. The Court dismissed the plea. It noted that the ECI, as a constitutional authority, had established a reputation as an unbiased organization over the past few decades and that it should be trusted.

Association for Democratic Reforms vs Election Commission of India (2024)

The petitioners argued that the current system, which mandates VVPAT verification in only five randomly chosen polling stations within a constituency, was inadequate. They contended that the right to be informed about the accurate casting of a vote was a fundamental right. To achieve this, they aimed to revert to paper ballots or to ensure complete VVPAT verification. They recommended that a voter personally insert the VVPAT slip into the sealed box.

On 26 April 2024, when the second phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections began, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta unanimously dismissed the petition.

The 56-page ruling outlined the technology employed in EVM-VVPATs. The judges additionally documented all measures implemented by the ECI to guarantee free and fair elections. They warned against unfounded fears concerning the ECI and remarked that reverting to paper ballots would be a less effective answer to transparency issues.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 26, 2024) indicated a level of hypocrisy attached to criticism about Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), saying “EVMs are tampered when you lose and fine if you win”.

CONCLUSION 

EVMs have brought many changes in election process due to use of EVMs in election the process of election become fast , accurate and transparent . But the debate of use of EVMs in elections are never ending debate because the political parties who lose the election often raise the question about the validity of EVMs in election .Election Commission of India in 2017 challenge all political parties to bring any expert from around the world to hack or temper the Indian EVM . However no party accepted the challenge because it would damage their image and the excuse of EVMs tampering would have been eliminated. The Indian EVMs would not be hack or tamper there are so many proof Election Commission of India given to Supreme Court and political parties of India but the political parties are not accepted this fact because the politics which they play its come to end . 

EVMS AND BALLOT PAPERs  ELECTION CONCERN

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