What is an Electronic Voting machine?
An Electronic Voting Machine consists of two Units – a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit – joined by a five-meter cable. The Control Unit is the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the Ballot Button. This will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice.
In 1980, M. B. Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine, gazetted "Electronically operated vote the counting machine" (Gazette: 191/Mas/80, 15 October 1980). His original design (using Integrated Circuits) was exhibited to the public in Government Exhibitions held in six cities across Tamil Nadu. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Electronics Corporation of India Limited. The Industrial designers of the EVMs were faculty members at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay.The EVMs were first used in 1982 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency in Kerala for a limited number of polling stations.
EVMs can record a maximum of 3840 votes. As normally the total number of electors in a polling station will not exceed 1500, the capacity of EVMs is more than sufficient.
EVMs can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. There is provision for 16 candidates in a Balloting Unit. If the total number of candidates exceeds 16, a second Balloting Unit can be linked parallel to the first Balloting Unit. Similarly, if the total number of candidates exceeds 32, a third Balloting Unit can be attached and if the total number of candidates exceeds 48, a fourth Balloting Unit can be attached to cater to a maximum of 64 candidates.
That EVMs can be hacked is a threat that has been given not only in India but in many other countries, which is why a number of them have banned the voting machines.
1. Netherlands banned it for lack of transparency.
2. Ireland, after three years of research worth 51 million pounds, decided to junk EVMs.
3. Germany declared EVMs unconstitutional and banned it.
4. Italy also dropped e-voting since its results could be easily managed.
5. In the United States, California and many other states banned EVMs if they did not have a paper trail.
6. According to a CIA security expert, Venezuela, Macedonia and Ukraine stopped using EVMs after massive rigging was found.
7. England and France have never used EVMs.
Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, along with a professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had also once said that the EVMs could be easily tampered with and their results manipulated.
An Electronic Voting Machine consists of two Units – a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit – joined by a five-meter cable. The Control Unit is the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the Ballot Button. This will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice.
In 1980, M. B. Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine, gazetted "Electronically operated vote the counting machine" (Gazette: 191/Mas/80, 15 October 1980). His original design (using Integrated Circuits) was exhibited to the public in Government Exhibitions held in six cities across Tamil Nadu. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Electronics Corporation of India Limited. The Industrial designers of the EVMs were faculty members at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay.The EVMs were first used in 1982 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency in Kerala for a limited number of polling stations.
EVMs can record a maximum of 3840 votes. As normally the total number of electors in a polling station will not exceed 1500, the capacity of EVMs is more than sufficient.
EVMs can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. There is provision for 16 candidates in a Balloting Unit. If the total number of candidates exceeds 16, a second Balloting Unit can be linked parallel to the first Balloting Unit. Similarly, if the total number of candidates exceeds 32, a third Balloting Unit can be attached and if the total number of candidates exceeds 48, a fourth Balloting Unit can be attached to cater to a maximum of 64 candidates.
That EVMs can be hacked is a threat that has been given not only in India but in many other countries, which is why a number of them have banned the voting machines.
1. Netherlands banned it for lack of transparency.
2. Ireland, after three years of research worth 51 million pounds, decided to junk EVMs.
3. Germany declared EVMs unconstitutional and banned it.
4. Italy also dropped e-voting since its results could be easily managed.
5. In the United States, California and many other states banned EVMs if they did not have a paper trail.
6. According to a CIA security expert, Venezuela, Macedonia and Ukraine stopped using EVMs after massive rigging was found.
7. England and France have never used EVMs.
Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, along with a professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had also once said that the EVMs could be easily tampered with and their results manipulated.
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