Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]

EVM stands for an Electronic Voting Machine that is designed to collect votes cast by citizens in an electronic mode. The machine has buttons allocated for respective election candidates, and a cable connects the machine to an electronic ballot box.

The voters have to cast their votes by pressing the button, and the response is recorded through the cable into the electronic ballot box.

Configuration of Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]

The machine consists of two units, including the control unit and the balloting unit. Both of the units are hooked up by a 5-meter long cable. Since India has a vast region without any electricity facility, the EVM has been designed in a way so that the machine can be operated on a 6-volt single alkaline battery without facing any difficulty.

The election commission employs a polling officer who keeps the control unit of an EVM with them, while the balloting unit refers to the part that voters use to cast their votes.

History of Launching Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] in India

Before the 1990s, India used to conduct its elections by means of paper ballots. Although the rise of criminal election-related activity, and corrupted voters casting votes multiple times, the ambiguous voting system led to the decision to introduce the EVM Machine in India. The Election Commission of India's collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited aided in the development of the EVM Machine in India.

In this groundbreaking project, faculty members from IIT Bombay's Industrial Design Center played a key role as industrial designers. The first use of the EVM was in a by-election held in the North Paravur Assembly Constituency located in Kerala in the year 1982. The whole Indian election system got accustomed to the new electoral system in a step-by-step manner starting from 1998 to 2001.

Pros of the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]

The Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] has so many beneficial aspects that make the election system efficient as well as environmentally friendly.

1. The EVM Machine in India is not a paper-dependent system, and it requires no printing. Hence, the paper usage that cuts the trees down can be minimized using this voting system.
2. This machine allows you to store the votes and transport them in a trouble-free manner, ensuring a higher shelf-life of collected data.
3. This machine also possesses some other features that make the vote collection system tamper-free, along with ensuring faster vote counts.

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Cons of the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]

Despite having many advantageous factors, the EVM also possesses some technical shortcomings that can create bugs. Hacking the EVM data, software and hardware-related technical issues are some of them.

It can be concluded that Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] have been able to change the outlook of the Indian electoral system by ensuring information security.

FAQs on Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]

Q1. What service is provided by the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] in India?

The Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] in India enables us to collect votes for election purposes using an electronic method. The votes collected by an EVM are also counted by employing the electronic method. The use of EVM confirms a tamper-proof voting system and helps to achieve a transparent election system.

Q2. What is the main difference between the traditional voting method and the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] voting method?

The traditional voting method of India was not equipped to provide closed and secure protection against unauthorized voting entry. Besides that, the traditional voting system was not capable of maintaining the security of voters’ personal information. On the contrary, the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] is capable of registering votes in an electronic way that maintains security and safeguards voters’ personal information.

Q3. How was the Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] in India developed?

The collaborative initiative taken by the Election Commission of India with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited helped to develop the EVM in India. The faculty members from the Industrial Design Center at IIT Bombay took a major part as industrial designers in this revolutionary project.

Q4. Name some of the countries that have banned the use of an Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] to perform their election.

Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Ireland are names of some countries that do not use an Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] to execute their elections.