• Why Ballot Boxes Will Be Used Instead of EVMs to Store Votes in the Presidential Election

    Politics
    Why Ballot Boxes Will Be Used Instead of EVMs to Store Votes in the Presidential Election

    Digital Desk: Ever questioned why elections to elect the
    President and Vice President of India, members of the Rajya Sabha, and members
    of state legislative councils do not use electronic voting machines, which have
    been used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly elections since 2004?
    The EVMs are based on a technology that allows them to aggregate votes in
    direct elections for state assemblies and the Lok Sabha.



    The candidate receiving the most votes is deemed the winner
    after voters push the button next to the name of their preferred candidate.



    However, a single transferable vote is used to elect the president
    in conformity with the proportional representation system.



    Every elector may indicate as many choices as there are
    candidates running for office under the proportional representation by single
    transferable vote system.



    The voter must indicate their preferences for the candidates by
    placing the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth next to the candidates' names in
    the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper. The two candidates in the
    election on Monday are Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha, who is
    supported by the opposition.



    Officials stated that the EVMs are not intended to record this
    voting system. The electronic voting machine (EVM) aggregates votes, and under
    the proportional representation system, the machine will need to compute votes
    based on preference, which calls for a whole different technology.



    To put it another way, a different kind of EVM would be
    required.



    Since 2004, EVMs have been used in 127 assembly elections as
    well as four Lok Sabha elections, according to the August 2021 issue of the
    Election Commission's quarterly publication "My Vote Matters."



    The Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad, was
    tasked with designing and developing electronic voting machines (EVMs) after
    they were initially proposed in 1977 by the Election Commission, according to
    the EC website.



    To put it another way, a different kind of EVM would be
    required.



    Since 2004, EVMs have been used in 127 assembly elections as
    well as four Lok Sabha elections, according to the August 2021 issue of the
    Election Commission's quarterly publication "My Vote Matters."



    The Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad, was
    tasked with designing and developing electronic voting machines (EVMs) after
    they were initially proposed in 1977 by the Election Commission, according to
    the EC website.



    Only in 1998 was a universal agreement on its introduction
    possible, and 25 legislative assembly constituencies scattered throughout
    Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi began using them.



    EVMs were utilised in every assembly constituency during the
    assembly elections that were held in May 2001 in the states of Tamil Nadu,
    Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal.



    Since then, the Commission has used the EVMs for each state
    assembly election.



    In all 543 of the country's parliamentary constituencies,
    more than 10 lakh EVMs were utilised in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.