Why in the news?

The Supreme Court has decided to address petitions advocating for a comprehensive verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in upcoming general elections.

What are VVPATs?

• VVPAT machines, attached to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), print a slip showing the voter’s choice, allowing voters to verify their vote for 7 seconds before the slip drops into a secured box.
• The concept emerged in 2010, leading to the creation of prototypes by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL).
• After trials and feedback, the design was approved in February 2013.
• The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, were amended to incorporate VVPATs.
• They were first used in Nagaland’s Noksen Assembly constituency in 2013 and were implemented in all polling stations by the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Current VVPAT Slip Counting Protocol

• In 2018, the ECI consulted the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) to determine a statistically robust sample size for VVPAT slip verification.
• Initially, VVPAT slips of one randomly selected polling station per Assembly constituency were counted.
• This was increased to five polling stations per Assembly seat after a Supreme Court judgment in 2019.
• The ISI suggested counting VVPAT slips from 479 EVMs to ensure a high confidence level that the proportion of defective EVMs is less than 2%.

Recent petitions regarding VVPAT

• Opposition parties advocate for heightened VVPAT verification, ranging from 50% to 100%, to bolster electoral transparency and uphold the sanctity of democratic processes.
• However, the Election Commission emphasizes the need to balance transparency with operational constraints, citing logistical challenges and potential delays in result declaration.

About Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in India

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