Why VVPAT was brought in, why Opposition wants all slips verified
- With the first phase of voting set to take place on April 19, the Supreme Court (SC) last week said that petitions seeking 100% verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips would be taken up soon.
- In March 2023, the Association for Democratic Reforms had filed a petition before the apex court
- It says that to ensure free and fair elections, the tally from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) should be cross-verified with the VVPATs.
How VVPATs Work
- VVPAT machines are like receipt printers for electronic voting.
- When you vote on an EVM, a slip showing your chosen candidate pops out for seven seconds behind a glass window.
- This lets you verify your vote before it disappears into a secure box.
- You can't take the slip home, but it's saved to check against electronic results in a few randomly chosen polling stations.
Why VVPATs?
- Introduced in 2013, VVPATs came about after the Election Commission (EC) sought ways to make electronic voting more transparent.
- After trials and feedback, they were rolled out nationwide by 2017.
Legal Battles over VVPATs
- The use of VVPATs has been challenged in court.
- In 2013, a Supreme Court case ruled paper trails were necessary and ordered funding for VVPATs.
- The court ultimately sided with a five-station recount to verify VVPAT.
PRELIMS TAKEAWAY
- VVPAT
- ECI