Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) Machines

Context- A petition by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) called for 100% counting of slips from Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

What are VVPAT machines?  

• Background: At the meeting of the European Citizens’ Initiative on October 4, 2010, political parties presented the idea of ​​an additional layer of transparency to ensure the satisfaction of voters in the form of a “verifiable paper trail”. 
  • In 2013, the 1961 rules for conducting elections were amended to use VVPAT along with EVMs. 
• Meaning: It is a stand-alone system linked to electronic voting machines that allows  voters to verify that their vote was cast as intended. 

How do VVPAT machines work? 

• When the voter presses the button in the EVM, the paper is printed through the VVPAT.  
• The list contains a question mark and the applicant’s name. 
• This allows the voter to confirm their choice. 
• After it has been visible to the voter  for seven seconds through the glass cover of the VVPAT, the ballot is cut and dropped into the  box of the VVPAT machine and a beep sounds. 

Instances of use 

• VVPATs with EVMs were first used in the 51-Noksen (ST) assembly constituency by election of Nagaland in 2013, after which the EC decided to introduce VVPATs in a phased manner. 
• As of June 2017, 100% of VVPATs were used for polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections became the first general election where 100% of EVMs were linked to VVPATs. 

The decision of the Supreme Court 

• The Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in Subramanian Swamy v Election Commission of India observed that “a paper trail is an indispensable prerequisite for free and fair elections. 
• Voters’ confidence in EVMs can only be achieved by establishing a so-called paper trail. 

Present Calculation of Percentage of VVPAT slips

• Going forward, the ECI will require counting of all VVPAT tickets in five randomly selected  stations per  constituency or ward. 
• The Electoral Commission (EC) told the Supreme Court that if it counted slippage at 100% in all elections, the country would return to the days of manual voting. 

Cases and Petition 

• Election monitoring group ADR issued a written statement in March 2023 saying that while the voter’s requirement to ensure that the vote is recorded as given is “to some extent met” by showing the ticket for seven seconds, there is no procedure for the voter to do it to ensure that the voice is considered “recorded”.
• The ADR petition asked the court to recognize that it is the fundamental right of every voter to ensure that the vote is “recorded as given”, i.e. 100% counting of VVPAT tickets. 

What did EC say? 

• According to the Election Commission, 38,156 VVPATs were checked randomly during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
• There was no instance where a  vote intended for candidate ‘A’ went to candidate ‘B’.
• The EC said the VVPAT was “essentially an audit trail” so that the voter could check the vote immediately, but as per the Supreme Court’s orders, the sleep was counted on a “statistically sound basis”.
• It said manual counting of all VVPAT bills takes time and involves human error.

Source: Indian Express 

Practice question:

1. What are arguments in support and against the 100% verification of VVPAT slips?

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