CHAPTER 1

History
India used paper ballots till the 1990s. The sheer scale of the Indian elections with more than half a billion
people eligible to vote, combined with election-related criminal activity, led Indian election authority and
high courts to transition to electronic voting. According to Arvind Verma – a professor of Criminal
Justice with a focus on South Asia, Indian elections have been marked by criminal fraud and ballot
tampering since the 1950s. The first major election with large scale organized booth capturing were
observed in 1957. The journalist Prem Shankar Jha, states Milan Vaishnav, documented the booth
capturing activity by Congress party leaders, and the opposition parties soon resorted to the same
fraudulent activity in the 1960s. A booth-capture was the phenomenon where party loyalists, criminal
gangs and upper-caste musclemen entered the booth with force in villages and remote areas, and stuffed
the ballot boxes with pre-filled fake paper ballots. This problem grew between the 1950s and 1980s and
became a serious and large scale problem in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, later spreading
to Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal accompanied with election day
violence.[26] Another logistical problem was the printing of paper ballots, transporting and safely storing
them, and physically counting hundreds of millions of votes. The Election Commission of India, led by
T.N. Seshan, sought a solution by developing Electronic voting machines in the 1990s. These devices
were designed to prevent fraud by limiting how fast new votes can be entered into the electronic
machine. By limiting the rate of vote entered every minute to five, the Commission aimed to increase the
time required to cast fake ballots, therefore, allow the security forces to intervene in cooperation with the
volunteers of the competing political parties and the media.
The Commission introduced other features such as EVM initialization procedures just before the
elections. Officials tested each machine prior to the start of voting to confirm its reliable operation in the
front of independent polling agents. They added a security lock “close” button which saved the votes
already cast in the device's permanent memory but disabled the device's ability to accept additional votes
in the case of any attempt to open the unit or tamper. The Commission decided to conduct the elections
over several weeks in order to move and post a large number of security forces at each booth. On the day
of voting, the ballots were also locked and then saved in a secure location under the watch of state
security and local volunteer citizens. Additionally, the Election Commission also created a database of
thumb impressions and electronic voting signatures, open to inspection by polling agent volunteers and
outside observers. The EVMs-based system at each booth matches the voter with a registered card with
this electronic database in order to ensure that a voter cannot cast a ballot more than once. According to
Debnath and other scholars, these efforts of the Election Commission of India – developed in
consultations with the Indian courts, experts and volunteer feedback from different political parties – have
reduced electoral fraud in India and made the elections fairer and more competitive.

CHAPTER 2

EVM and Indian judiciary

EVM and electronic voting have been the subject of numerous court cases in Indian courts including
the Supreme Court of India. The first case was filed in the 1980s even before EVMs were used in any
election. The AC Jose vs. Sivan Pillai case was a case seeking a stay order on the use of EVMs for Kerala
election. The case was reviewed by the Supreme Court. It ruled on March 5, 1984, that the extant laws of
India – in particular, Sections 59–61 of the Representation of People Act 1951 – specified paper ballots
and it therefore forbade the use of any other technology including electronic voting. And it was used in
1982 in Kerala for a limited number of polling stations. The EVMs were first time used on an
experimental basis in selected constituencies of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The Court stated
that the use of an alternate technology would require the Indian parliament to amend the law.
The parliament of India amended the Representation of People Act in December 1988. Section 61A of the
amended law empowered the Election Commission to deploy voting machines instead of paper ballots.
The amended law became effective from March 15, 1989. The use of EVMs, their reliability and
speculations about fraud through the use of EVMs have been the subject of many lawsuits before state
high courts and the Supreme Court of India. These courts have either dismissed the cases as frivolous or
ruled in the favor of the Election Commission and the EVMs. Of these, in the 2002 ruling on the J.
Jayalalithaa and Ors vs. Election Commission of India case, the Supreme Court of India stated that the
use of EVMs in elections was constitutionally valid.
Electronic voting
The Indian electronic voting machine (EVM) were developed in 1989 by Election Commission of India in
collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and 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. The EVMs were first time used on an experimental basis in selected
constituencies of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The EVMs were used first time in the general
election (entire state) to the assembly of Goa in 1999. In 2003, all by-elections and state elections were
held using EVMs, encouraged by this election commission decided to use only EVMs for Lok Sabha
elections in 2004.

CHAPTER 3

Benefits of EVM in the Elections

1. According to an estimate, about 10,000 tons of ballot is saved in a national
election in India due to the use of EVM machine. This is around saving of 2 lac
trees. So the use of EVMs in the elections is a good job in terms of
environment protection.
2. The Cost of M2 EVMs (2006-10) was Rs.8670/EVM (Balloting Unit and Control
Unit). The cost of M3 EVMs has been tentatively fixed at about Rs.
17,000/unit. But this cost seems less if we calculate the cost of printing the ballot
papers, their storage, transpiration and cost incurred on the manpower used to
carry ballot papers.
3. EVM machines can be moved easily from one place to another as compared to
the ballot boxes, that is why people living in the hilly and other inaccessible can
cast their vote in the elections. So EVMs provided the right to vote to many peoples
of the country.
4. It is expected that about 900 million people were voting in the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections in India but due to the use of EVM machines, it is expected that
the counting of votes will take place on faster mode. So the shorter time of
counting will release the election machinery early and the employees will be able to
join their parent departments early.
6. As mentioned above just one vote can be casted by one person so the EVM
reduces the possibilities of the fake votes.
7. After conducting the election the EVM saves the votes in its memory so it
reduces any possibility of the fake vote when voting is finally closed.
8.EVM's "control unit" the EVM can keep the conducted vote for a period of upto ten
years. So the re-counting of votes is possible in case of any disputation.

9. The EVMs are run by the batteries, so these machines can be used in those areas
whereas there is no electricity.
10. An Indian EVM can be used for EVMs are very cost effective because a
machine works around 15 years. So the total cost of an election get reduces.
Which countries have been exported to EVM machine by India?
India has exported its EVM to many countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan,
Namibia, Fiji and Kenya.

Namibia used Indian EVMs in its presidential elections held in 2014. Apart
from this, many other Asian and African countries have shown interest in
purchasing Indian EVMs.
In essence, it can be said that the use of EVM in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha
elections reduces the total cost of elections in addition to saving around 2 lac trees.

Although the EC should also give benefiting reply to the questions raised on the
reliability of EVM by all the political parties, only then the democracy will win in the
elections.

CHAPTER 4

Laws in India relating to Electronic Voting Machines

(Article 324 (1)vests in the Election Commission of India, the powers of superintendence, direction and
control of the elections to both Houses of the State Legislature. Detailed provisions are made under the
Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the rules made thereunder.)

Electronic Voting Machine was introduce India to solve the problem of Ballot Box capturing and casting
of false vote, which was a common scenario in India while using the Ballot Paper, and to conduct fair
election. Hence, the Indian Parliament Amended the Representation of the People Act, and introduced
Section 61A in The Representation of the People Act, 1951,whichlays down the provisions for the use of
Electronic Voting Machine by Election Commission of India to Conduct General and State election in
India.

Which is read as under:

“61A. Voting machines at elections.—Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or the rules made
there under, the giving and recording of votes by voting machines in such manner as may be prescribed,
may be adopted in such constituency or constituencies as the Election Commission may, having regard
to the circumstances of each case, specify. Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, “voting
machine” means any machine or apparatus whether operated electronically or otherwise used for giving
or recording of votes and any reference to a ballot box or ballot paper in this Act or the rules made
thereunder shall, save as otherwise provided, be construed as including a reference to such voting
machine wherever such voting machine is used at any election.]”

Chapter 5

Conclusion :-

EVM systems though expressed in a negative light has its immence reassuring benefit.Its atmost benefit
is the environmental approach as ballot paper systems reduces falling of trees as in 1976 elections
amount of environmental harm produced and import of trees for production of paper for elections was
immence further such EVM machines have pragmatic ease in in its utilisation in strict sense mobility in
distant remote place.Its cost effective further cannot be ignored . However even if such delimitations
exist such does not have value added impact, as it is indeed considered most safe than traditional ballot
system .