- Goa was the first state to use VVPATs with all EVMs during its 2017 Legislative Assembly election.
- VVPATs were fully deployed in the 2019 Lok Sabha General Elections.
Key highlights of the Association for Democratic Reforms vs ECI judgement
- Verification of VVPAT: Court acknowledged the fundamental right of voters to ensure their vote is accurately recorded and counted. However, it clarified that this does not equate to the right to count all VVPAT slips or to physically access these slips.
- Direction to enhance public confidence in the EVM-VVPAT: The Court issued following two directions:
- Strengthening of Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) protocol: On completion of the symbol loading process in the VVPAT, the SLU shall be sealed and secured in containers which shall be signed by the candidates or their representatives.
- Verification of burnt memory: Verification of the burnt memory semi-controller of 5% of EVMs per assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency.
Journey of EVM-VVPAT
- 1982: EVMs were first used in an assembly bye-election in Kerala
- 1989: The Representation of the People Act, 1951 was amended to permit EVM use.
- 2004: EVMs were adopted for General Elections and have been used in all elections since.
- 2013: The Supreme Court mandated VVPAT use in Subramanian Swamy v. Election Commission of India.
- 2019: Supreme Court ruled in N. Chandrababu Naidu and Others v. Union of India and Another that 5 EVMs per assembly constituency or assembly segment in a parliamentary constituency must undergo VVPAT verification.
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a portable microcontroller-based instrument designed to modernize the Election process.
- It is manufactured and supplied to the ECI by Bharat Electronics Limited (under the Ministry of Defense) and Electronic Corporation of India Limited (under the Department of Atomic Energy).
- It consists of 3-units the
- Ballot unit: Functions like a keyboard with 16 buttons/key.
- Control unit: Also called as the master unit, remains with the polling/presiding officer
- VVPAT: Allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended.
- When a vote is cast, a slip is printed containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate
- This slip is visible through a transparent window for 7 seconds before it automatically cuts and drops into a sealed box.
