Indian elections used paper ballots till the 1990s. Half a million people using a manual voting method created opportunities for election-related criminal activities. This compelled high courts and Indian election authorities to transition to Electronic Voting Machines.

Let’s look at what an Electronic Voting Machine is, how it works and more.

An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a portable electronic instrument used to conduct elections. These are used in elections of parliament as well as of local bodies like municipalities.

EVM has a microcontroller-based design which ensures a safe and secure way of voting. One can cast only 1 vote in an EVM, and it facilitates accurate and efficient counting of votes while leaving no room for invalid votes. An EVM retains voting data for years, which is extractable when needed.

The Election Commission of India developed EVM in collaboration with Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in 1989. For the first time in 1999, the Goa State Assembly elections saw the use of EVMs.

To learn what an Electronic Voting Machine is, it is crucial to know how it works.

An EVM has a balloting unit and a control unit. A five-metre cable connects these two parts. A polling officer handles the control unit and keeps the balloting unit in a separate compartment for casting votes.

EVMs run on 6V alkaline batteries, and this feature makes them usable in times when there is no electricity.

A balloting unit provides voters with horizontally aligned blue buttons that list candidate names and party symbols. A control unit presents a polling officer-in-charge a button with "ballot" written on it, and they use it to proceed to the next voter.

There are a few simple steps to voting on an EVM machine:

Step 1: At a booth when a voter enters the polling compartment, a presiding officer will activate the ballot unit.

Step 2: A voter has to press a blue button of his or her choice against a symbol and name of a candidate.

Step 3: After pressing a button, a red light will glow beside the chosen candidate, and there will be a long beep sound.

Step 4: A voter will be able to see a print of a ballot slip that will show and reconfirm the casting of a vote against the candidate and the serial number.

Advantages of Electronic Voting Machines

Let’s look at the advantages:

• Voting in an EVM takes very less time.
• Counting votes and declaring results also takes comparatively less time than previous systems.
• One cannot engage in rigging votes by making changes to an EVM’s programme without damaging it. This prevents vote fraud.
• An EVM has a sealed security chip. One cannot tamper with an EVM's systems and breach security.
• In a constituency, an EVM voting system can board 64 candidates.
• In 1 minute, only 5 people can cast their vote in an EVM.
• A person can only cast 1 vote; second attempts will have no value.
• EVMs run on batteries which confirm the uninterrupted voting process.
• Voting data stays inside an EVM for 10 years.
• There is a NOTA button in EVMs where one can press to vote for “none of the above” or express that they choose no candidate fit for the post.

However, with so many advantages, EVMs also have some limitations.

Disadvantages of Electronic Voting Machines

The disadvantages or limitations of Electronic Voting Machines are discussed below:

• An EVM will have candidate names in the state language only. If a voter is not familiar with that language, he or she has to memorise the symbol of their candidate of choice.
• EVMs can only record up to 3840 votes. However, it is a limitation that generally does not hinder the voting process, as there are not that many voters for each polling station.
• EVMs can accommodate only 64 candidates. It does so by joining 4 ballot units. If the number of candidates increases, people have to adhere to a manual voting method.

This article provides brief discussions on several aspects of what an Electronic Voting Machine is. It talks about its necessity in Indian elections and the safety it has brought to it.