3. Genesis - Concept
• Idea mooted by the Chief
Election Commissioner in
1977
• Pros and cons of E-voting
vis-à-vis ballot paper
analysed by High Power
Committees
• Recommended E-voting to
save avoidable and recurring
expenditure on printing,
storage, transportation and
security of Ballot Paper to
the exchequer
Top: Ballot paper awaiting despatch
Bottom: EVMs in store room
4. Genesis - Challenge
• Evolve a machine which
would fit into the existing
Election Procedure
• Appear familiar to the voter
• Addressing the skepticism of
the Political Parties and
Intelligentsia including Press
• Evolving a machine and a
procedure which would be
transparent and acceptable
to all
Top: Ballot box being carried to the polling station
Bottom: EVMs being carried to the polling station
5. Genesis - Solution
• Electronics Corporation of
India Limited (ECIL) a
leading Public Sector
Company engaged in the
design and manufacture of
professional electronics was
commissioned to design a
machine to prove the
feasibility
• Once feasibility was
established, Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL) a
second Public Sector
Company was co-opted into
the exercise
Voters waiting to cast their vote
6. Genesis - Solution
Voting the Ballot box way
• Both the companies (ECIL &
BEL) brought out models
with a common User
Interface in 1980
• The machines were
extensively tried out at
locations across the country
• Publicity campaigns were
run in the press and other
media
• Seminars conducted by
Election Commission of India
in various forums
• Feedback obtained used to
Voting the EVM way fine-tune the machine
7. Concerns
• How secure is the data ?
• Can the data be tampered
with ?
• How does the machine
operate in remote areas
without electric power ?
• What happens if the power
fails in the middle of the
voting process ?
• Can the data be stored long
enough to be used as
evidence in a court of law in
case of electoral disputes ?
Top: EVM being demonstrated to the press
Middle: EVM being demonstrated to VIPs
Bottom: Address to the press on EVMs
8. Remedies
• All mechanical, electrical and
software security features are
provided to ensure the integrity Counting
of the voting data Ballot paper way
• It is independent of mains power
and operates on a special
power pack
• It is tamper-proof and error free
• It incorporates a microprocessor
that has ‘burnt-in’ software code
which cannot be altered or
retrieved
• All the data is recorded on non-
volatile dual redundant memory
chips and can be retained for
over 6 months even when the
power pack is removed
Counting - EVM way
9. EVM – Technology Features
• Centres around state-of-the-art microprocessor with
built-in PROM storing the software code which
cannot be retrieved or altered
• Reliable, robust and error free software
• Legacy software with machine codes used to
preserve integrity and security
• Double redundant resilient memory storage for
securely retaining data without a need for a backup
battery
• User friendly operation sequence
• Portable and easy to operate
• Custom made to fit into the existing pattern
10. EVM – Technology Features
• Provision is made on all the sub-units for sealing to
ensure that the units are not tampered with
• Each EVM can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates
with 4 Ballot Units cascaded
• The EVM can be used for conducting “TWO”
simultaneous polls.
• EVMs to conduct up to “FOUR” or “MORE”
simultaneous polls to suit the electoral systems of
other countries are developed and demonstration
models available
12. Ballot Unit - Details
Ready Lamp
Slide Switch Window
Candidate’s Button
Candidate’s Lamp
Ballot Paper Screen
13. Ballot Unit - Internal parts
Ready Lamp
Slide Switch
Candidate’s Button
Masking Tab
14. Control Unit
ON Lamp Busy Lamp
Display Section
Candidate Set Section
Result Section
Ballot Section
Ballot Button
Total Button
15. Control Unit - View of Bottom
Compartment
Power Switch
Connector for Connector for
Interconnecting Cable Auxiliary Unit
Bottom Compartment
Cover
16. Control Unit - Display Section
4-Digit
Display Panel
ON Lamp
Busy Lamp
2-Digit
Display Panel
17. Control Unit - Candidate Set Section
Candidate set section Candidate set section
inner door outer door
Provision for
thread seal
Latch
Candidate set
Power pack button
compartment
Plug for Provision for
power pack Thread seal
18. Control Unit - Result Section
Result I
button Clear button
Close
button
Result II Inner Frames for
button latches Paper seal
19. Control Unit - Ballot Section
Total button
Ballot button
20. Polling
• The voter is identified from the voters list and
records his presence by a signature or thumb
impression
• The Presiding Officer presses the “Ballot” button on
the Control Unit permitting one vote
• The voter then proceeds to the polling cubicle and
after perusing the ballot paper on the Ballot Unit,
presses the key against the candidate of his choice
21. Polling
• A red lamp glows indicating to the voter that his vote
has been cast in favour of that candidate
• The casting of the vote results in a beep in the
Control Unit indicating to the Presiding Officer that a
vote has been cast
• He then proceeds to release another vote by
pressing the “Ballot” button and the process
continues
22. Closing
• The cap on the “Close
Button” is removed and
the button pressed
• The cap is then
replaced
• The unit is then
switched “Off” and the
interconnecting cable
disconnected
23. Counting & Results
• The Power pack /
Battery is checked for
health by pressing the
TOTAL Button
• After getting ready to
note down the result,
the green paper seal
over RESULT-1 Button
is pierced and
RESULT-1 Button is
pressed.
24. Counting & Results
• The “RESULT-1” button is pressed to display the
results
• The results are then noted.
25. SEQUENCE OF OPERATION OF BUTTONS
ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE
CLEAR
RESULT-1 CAND. SET
CLOSE BALLOT
26. Advantages
• Modernises the election process
• User friendly – can be used even by illiterates
• Simple to operate and can be installed in a short time
• Preserves voting secrecy
• No scope for invalid votes
• Facilitates quick and accurate counting – possible to
declare results instantaneously
• Re-usable by simply erasing votes recorded in earlier
poll
27. Advantages
• Huge expenditure involved in printing, storing
and transportation and security of ballot paper
can be avoided
• Lowers operating costs
• Easier to manage with less demand on man-
power
• Provision can be made to connect to a
“CENTRAL STATION” to consolidate and
display / record the results countrywide
28. Statistics of Interest
• Around one million machines
deployed during Lok Sabha,
2004 polls
• Low failure rate
• Costs around US $ 300
• Estimated saving on the
switchover to EVM is Approx
US $ 40 million
• Political Parties and
Intelligentsia who initially
were skeptical now endorse
the machine for its veracity
EVM being demonstrated to voters before
the recent elections held in the state of
Jammu & Kashmir
The ready lamp glows when the unit is switched on The slide switch is used to set the no of the unit, ie it is set to 1 if there are only 16 candidates and 1 for the first and 2 for the second if there are 17 to 32 candidates and so on The candidate’s lamp glows indicating to the voter that his/her vote is cast in favor of that candidate After the ballot paper is placed and aligned the screen is put in place and sealed
Candidate button is the button which is pressed by the voter Masking tab is used to mask the candidate buttons which are not in use; ie if there are only 8 candidates the remaining switches from 9 to 16 are masked and cannot be operated
On lamp glows when the unit is powered on. Busy Lamp glows when a ballot is released and a voter is in the process of voting. After the casting the lamp goes off with a beep thus indicating that the vote is cast Total button may be pressed at any given time to know the total no of votes polled till then Ballot button – pressing of this button releases a vote in the ballot unit and also results in the busy lamp glowing
Power switch powers on / off the EVM Connecter for connecting the Ballot unit with interconnecting cable Auxiliary unit connector – to connect second ballot unit in case of two simultaneous polls
Candidate set button: For setting the no of candidates in the poll. The Ballot unit and the control unit are connected and powered on. This button is pressed and the candidate button on the ballot unit corresponding to the last candidate is pressed.
Close button: To close the poll at the end of the appointed period. Once this button is depressed no more votes can be cast on this machine Result 1 To view the results of poll 1 Result 2: To view the results of poll 2 Clear : Clears the data recorded in the voting machine – operable only after the results are viewed at least once