Results of elections carry the essence of an ideal republic.
It is the cornerstone of democracy, which
allows to form a collective will fuelling the policy making of our country, representing diverse voices
from every part of the land. Voting hence becomes a fundamental duty, a civic responsibility of every
citizen. It ensures people feel heard, their will resounding in Delhi through their representative.
So how we conduct elections become a very crucial question. It demands fairness and transparency;
the anonymity of voter still being safe.
EVMs, here come into the picture.
EVMs (electronic voting machines) were first introduced in 1998 which are manufactured by BEL
(Bharat Electronics Limited) and ECI (Electronic Corporation of India); PSUs under defence ministry.
Countries like Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland use
EVMs; whereas countries like Germany, Italy, Ireland and Netherlands have tried but rejected it
afterwards. Namibia uses EVMs manufactured by India. Estonia is the only country which conducts
election through internet voting. Britain and France use paper ballot which in their case sounds
plausible.
Before introducing EVMs instances of booth-capturing were prevalent. Candidates used to send goons
to stamp names in paper and put it into the ballots. There were hardly any booth-capturing after its
introduction.
Election Commission boasts 275 safety protocols the EVM has to go through. It's isolation from
internet, protocols of randomization on EVM have truly revolutionized the process of elections in
India. With EVMs counting takes less time and it has a low error margin.
However, in recent times, many prominent groups and political parties have expressed their concerns
regarding EVMs. They have claimed that EVMs and the whole process has loopholes. And with
instances of EVM malfunctioning and safety protocols being compromised, their stance becomes even
stronger.
While there were several EVM malfunctions, the Maharashtra state elections of 2019 stand at the top
of the list of incidents. In a booth at Satara, all votes went to the ruling party, no matter which button
was pressed. This malfunctioning was even acknowledged by the election official.
Some voters of Navdewadi village of Koregaon also filed a complaint when the slip that came out was
in favour of BJP when the vote was cast for another candidate. Although the officers paid little
attention initially, further inspection found the villagers' suspicions to be true. In another instance,
village police arrested two people carrying EVMs in a private vehicle without prior authorisation. In
another instance, village police arrested two people carrying EVMs in a private vehicle without prior
authorisation.
Although there has been a change in the manner in which we vote, the basic premise of voting
remains the same. Ensuring one voter one vote, maintaining voter anonymity, accuracy of the vote,
with strict safeguards against fraud. It is a considered opinion that inclusion of more steps into the
mechanics of EVMs increases the possibility of errors.
The earliest indication of such potential for fraud, was made public by Hari K Prasad, J. Alex
Halderman, and Rop Gonggrijp. They argued that EVMs are vulnerable to tampering and are not
infallible. The expert committee reports requested by the Election Commission were authored by
scientists with no experience on EVMs. EVMs, much like computers, operate using software. A
specialized software known as firmware directs the machine on what to do when you press the buttons
to cast your votes. This software is stored in a special memory chip in a secret code which machine
can read but we cannot see or change. This code is put there by a company that makes this machine
based on technology made by a Japanese corporation called Renesas. So, if someone alters the secret
code before installing it in the machine, it becomes very difficult to detect any changes. The secrecy
of the software itself is a threat. If the EVM manufacturers struggle to verify the code, relying on it
becomes risky. And changing the code would be both expensive and time-consuming. Note that the
EVMs were not hacked as per se but were manipulated. BEL and ECI decided to label Hari Prasad as
the EVM thief, accusing him of violating intellectual rights they never actually owned. Hari was
bailed out just eight days after his arrest. Dr. Subramanium Swamy, a prominent politician, in 2009,
argued the court that India's elections don't match international standards. He proposed adding paper
trails for more transparency in the voting process. The Election Commission accepted the proposal to
explore VVPAT and agreed to offer visual proof to voters. They proposed making the light glow for
15 seconds against the selected candidate and party.
In 2012, a transparent glass was installed to let the voters see. However, in 2017, a black glass was
added, and the time for the light to glow was reduced from 15 seconds to 7 seconds, without any clear
reasons. The control unit is susceptible to manipulation if it can be replaced without detection. The
physical security of EVM is also concerning. To this, Kanan Gopinathan, a former IAS, in a recent
interview, suggested connecting a cable between the ballot unit and control unit before the voting
begins. During the count, the connection will be the proof of its integrity. GPS devices to each EVM
for tracking are to be installed to allow the authorities to locate and monitor the machines. However,
the ISI (Indian Statistical Institute) report revealed that counting the VVPATs and EVMs of any 479
polling booths can ensure a mere 0.006334248% chance of EVM malfunctioning. In India, we
currently verify 5 random polling booths per constituency, making the malfunctioning virtually non-
existent. Still, the doubts of manipulation exist. This article is not intended for fearmongering; instead,
it presents the possible ways in which EVMs can be manipulated. With proper steps, these small
issues can be tackled, or else we might face a situation, where people deny the results of election
itself; and lose faith in what the current establishment rightly calls the largest festival of parliamentary
democracy with over 90 crore eligible voters.
Mohammed Ansar Raza
References used:
https://indiaevm.org/evm_tr2010-jul29.pdf
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/113840870/
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/maharashtra-assembly-elections/news/shocking-at-these-
polling-booths-in-satara-no-matter-which-button-you-pressed-on-the-evm-votes-went-to-bjp-ec-
official-accepts-allegation/articleshow/
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/The-problem-with-EVMs/article13369610.ece
