SC Alerts EC on VVPAT Count

Context

The Supreme Court of India responded to a petition by ordering that all Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) paper slips should be counted in elections, rather than just five Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) per constituency. The Court has asked the Election Commission for a response in order to address any discrepancies in election results and ensure an accurate tally.

About Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)

Overview

• VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) is the additional system which is employed along with electronic voting machines (EVMs) to enhance transparency and accountability in elections.

Functionality

• Ensue paper roils for each e-voted cast.
• Prints a paper receipt that shows a voter’s decisions right after ballot casting instead of receiving it later.
• Empowers voters to scrutinise and true-up their entries on the printed reticule.

Verification Process

• Voters, overseeing the display of rolled paper within the window of the receipt printer validate the accuracy of the information printed on the ballot.
• Finally, after the tab has been verified, the receipt is printed securely inside of the VVPAT.

Backup and Security

• Trashed-out paper receipts (along with hard-copy checks) sometimes function as proof of an everyday transaction or a more significant one (in case of a dispute or recount).
• Paper receipt is tucked and kept securely in sealed spaces within the machine in VVPAT.

Purpose and Importance

• Enhances confidence in the electoral process by serving as an independent auditing instrument. Create a word cloud of the chosen three to five most prevalent words or phrases recorded. This word cloud will help you identify the main themes and patterns emerging from the data.
• It makes voting reliable and fair since it is a kind of hard copy of voted ballots.

About the SC’s recent action

Supreme Court Notice

• The notice shows the court’s concern for the issue and the possibility of a judicial intervention.

Petition Origin

• Mr. Arun Kumar Aggarwal, a known name of the legal-activist groups gets involved in this case which only proves their anxieties on the electoral system.

Association Involvement

• The collaboration with other citizen groups in ADR movement, demonstrates the national support side of the petition which points to the increased public institutionalisation of the election transparencies.

Challenged Guidelines

• The challenge questions the effectiveness and equity of the procedures applied by the Election Commission.

Delay Concerns

• Delay in the verification phases can lower public confidence in the entire process of elections. This might make people believe its routine schemes like manipulation or fraud.

Efficiency Proposal

• Concurrent approval could be a game changer by streamlining the process and perfecting the timely results, as well as keeping up with the highest level of trust and precision.

Resource Allocation

• The proper placement of officers can lead to the enhancement of verification that is relied upon in the process of elections guaranteeing the integrity of the whole act of the elections.

Cost and Utilisation

• The VVPAT technology that requires hefty investment should be maximised to expose it to the public to achieve its intended objective of increasing election transparency.

Current Verification Practice

• A prerequisite for the verification procedure is the lack of satisfactory check rates. It can cause scepticism about the result’s true status and missed mistakes.

Voter Assurance

• The integrity of the electoral process is preserved only when the validation of each and every vote is done which is done to assure voters that correct numbers have been appropriately submitted as a final result.

Conclusion

• Finally, the Supreme Court’s notice concerning the petition decreeing VVPAT verification is a significant milestone toward the security and truthfulness of electoral systems. There is the question of delays, efficiency, and most importantly that of voter confidence, that draws attention in this go-ahead of the judiciary. This move shows the judiciary’s appreciation for the democratic principles and processes. 
• Resolving these challenges could raise trust in the election results and the people’s confidence in the democratic process, and bring about the desired stability that the foundation of governance in India needs.

Source: India Today

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q.Discuss the significance of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in enhancing transparency and accountability in the electoral process, considering recent judicial interventions.

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