Bringing transparency in electoral process and preventing malpractices are great challenges in an election process.
India has been trying to achieve these goals for years. Even after the transformation from ballot paper system to electronic voting machines, not much headway could be made to rule out manipulation of poll results. As experts and individuals from the political fraternity started raising concerns about the vulnerability of EVMs, the government felt the need to further delve into the issue and introduce a more viable option.
Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is a method of providing feedback to voters. It’s completely an independent verification system. For those uninitiated, VVPAT is a printer-like machine attached to every EVM that allows voters to verify that their vote has been cast correctly. Once a voter presses button of his choice in the EVM, a printed paper appears containing the name of the candidate and poll symbol so that he can verify it. After the voter views the receipt it goes inside a container linked to the EVM, which can be accessed only by the polling officers. This latest system is one step further towards prevention of electoral fraud.
The system was first experimented during the Nagaland by-elections in 2013, Mizoram was the first state to introduce VVPAT on a large scale. It was used in 10 assembly constituencies of Aizawl district. On a national level, the system was introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies during the 2014 general elections. It was used in 516 polling stations across eight states.
The system was first experimented during the Nagaland by-elections in 2013, Mizoram was the first state to introduce VVPAT on a large scale. It was used in 10 assembly constituencies of Aizawl district. On a national level, the system was introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies during the 2014 general elections. It was used in 516 polling stations across eight states.
@Agency report.
