General elections have started in the country from today i.e. 19th April. EVM plays a very important role in elections. Actually, EVM becomes a victim of politics every time. Despite all the allegations, EVM helps in giving a new government to the country. It is used in other elections also.
How did the use of EVM i.e. Electronic Voting Machine start in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections? EVMs have replaced the use of ballot paper in India. Allegations have been made many times against electronic voting machines, but till date no one has been able to prove it.
After these allegations, the Election Commission has introduced the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trial i.e. VVPAT system. However, this system is not fully implemented yet. It was started as a pilot project in the year 2014.
How did the story of EVM begin?
Year 1980, M.B. Hanifa had made the first voting machine. At this time it was named Electronically Operated Vote Counting Machine. Its original design was shown to the common people in the government exhibition held in 6 cities of Tamil Nadu. EVM It was first used in 1982 in the by-election held in North Paravur, Kerala.
In the initial days, the Election Commission had to face many opposition regarding the use of EVM. In the year 1998, EVMs were used in 16 assemblies. After this, it was expanded in 1999 and they were used on 46 Lok Sabha seats. In the year 2004, EVMs were used in all the seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
How does EVM work?
EVM has two units – control and ballot. That is, one unit on which you cast your vote by pressing the button and the other unit in which your vote is stored. The control unit is with the polling officer, while the ballot unit is kept on the other side, from where people can cast their votes.
On the ballot unit, you are given the symbols of various parties and the names of the candidates, next to which there is a blue button. By pressing these buttons you cast your vote. There is a button marked Ballot on the control unit, after pressing which the second voter can cast his vote.
As soon as the last vote is cast at a polling station, the polling officer presses the Close button on the control unit. After this, votes cannot be cast on EVM. After the voting is over, the control unit is kept separate from the battle unit. To get the result one has to press the Result button given on the control unit.
There are two safeguards to ensure that this button is not pressed accidentally. This button cannot be used until the Close button is pressed and the voting process is completely finished. This button is hidden and is kept sealed for security reasons. This seal is broken only at the counting centre.
What happens inside EVM?
According to experts, there is a microprocessor installed in EVM. This processor can be programmed only once. That means once the program is written, you cannot make changes in it. In other words, no other software can be written on it.
However, there is no information about which chip or processor is used in it. Electricity is not required to use EVM. EVM comes with a 7.5-volt alkaline power pack i.e. battery, which is supplied by Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
In the old model of EVM, 3840 votes could be stored. However, in its new version only 2000 votes are stored. The data stored in EVM can be kept safe for 10 years or more. The cost of one unit of EVM is approximately Rs 8,670. Earlier this price was even lower.
EVMs are manufactured jointly by two companies. It is prepared by the Election Commission in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru (Ministry of Defence) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad (Department of Atomic Energy).