Source: www.thehindu.com www.visionias.wordpress.com 1 Reference: Current Affairs Material G.S. Mains 2011 – The Hindu – PART I HEADING [ CATEGORY ] SUMMARY The problem with EVMs Political To be considered free and fair, the international standards an election has to meet are: • individuals have to be accurately identified as eligible voters who have not already voted; • voters are allowed only one anonymous ballot each, which they can mark in privacy; • the ballot box is secure, observed and, during the election, only able to have votes added to it by voters: votes cannot be removed; • when the election ends, the ballot box is opened and counted in the presence of observers from all competing parties. The counting process cannot reveal how individual voters cast their ballots; • if the results are in doubt, the ballots can be checked and counted again by different people; • as far as the individual voter is concerned, he must be assured that the candidate he casts his vote for, actually gets that vote. Over the last few centuries, the system of paper ballots was developed that could meet all these six requirements. But the pattern of use of EVMs in the last few general elections in India does not meet the fifth and sixth requirements set out here. A “paper backup” or “paper trail” can be it incorporated in EVMs as is done in some countries. This “paper trail” procedure is meant to supplement the procedure of voting, as follows: “The EVM prints out a readable receipt, which is confirmed by the voter, who then deposits it in a ballot box on the way out of the booth, and which poll workers are monitoring. “If the election is later disputed, officials can optically scan these paper ballots or hand-count them.” If the EVM is linked to the Unique Identity system being developed, and the EVM can check voters' biometric details before allowing them to vote, that will eliminate bogus voting as well. The official stand of the ECI is that EVMs are 100 per cent reliable and tamper-proof, that the functioning chips have their instructions indelibly burnt into them at the time of manufacture; that these chips are then “mother-sealed” into the EVM; and that this can never be altered. This claim is presented as an immaculate premise, a mantra requiring no proof thereof. VISION IAS ™ www.visionias.wordpress.com www.visionias.cfsites.org www.visioniasonline.com
