The virtual vote

Some Electronic Voting Machines EVMs were shown to me... No matter which symbol you press, the vote will be registered for the rising sun ...

Some Electronic Voting Machines EVMs were shown to me8230; No matter which symbol you press, the vote will be registered for the rising sun symbol,8217;8217; AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had claimed.

But this is possible only if the constituency-wise software was programmed that way by the professionals engaged by the Chief Electoral Officer/ Returning Officers. While a ruling dispensation could perhaps manage this, the Opposition leadership certainly could not. However, Jayalalithaa has rightly referred to the reluctance of Americans to move over to the EVM. This is because in the US, computer scientists as well as voters are aware that even a cub programmer can write a code that displays on-screen votes one way, records them another way, and tallies them yet another way.

In defence, Deputy Election Commissioner, A N Jha said: 8216;8216;EVMs used in general elections are tamper-proof, and it is extremely difficult to meddle with the machines.8217;8217; He went on to say that the machines were introduced after they were cleared by a high-power committee of experts.

The AIADMK has retorted with a petition to the EC which inter alia states: 8216;8216;It is the strong belief of the AIADMK, quite unassailable, that tampering with EVM machines has taken place before, during and after the polls.8217;8217; The party has challenged the EC to participate in a public demonstration to prove EVMs could be doctored and tampered with.

The AIADMK seems to be very sure of itself. Never mind the fact that it swept the 2001 State Assembly polls with EVMs, when the technology was at a nascent stage and subject to bigger manipulation with the DMK in power.

Nevertheless, there are lingering doubts about the integrity of the EVM vis-a-vis the paper ballot system. Three of the essential elements of a free and fair election under the paper ballot system are:

8226; Voters can check the accuracy of the ballot paper before marking their votes;

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8226; Voters can verify the correctness of the marking before placing the ballot inside the box;

8226; Reconstruction and cross-verification of the vote for authentication of election results is possible in case of dispute.

Needless to say, all these facilities are not available with the EVM system, therefore, raising questions about its accuracy. The moment the voters punch the EVM button, they lose control over their vote as the machine and its software take over. It is universally acknowledged that even the best experts do not know how to write bug-free software. The more complex the software, the more difficult it is to find and fix the bugs. And election software is very complex. It could contain errors, regardless of the skill and dedication of the engineers who design it and the programmers who code it.

However, the EVM8217;s advantages far outweigh its drawbacks. So it would be unwise to revert to the paper ballot, as suggested by Jayalalitha. At the same time, the EC should respond to the lingering doubts and build a foolproof safeguard in the form of a voter verification system.

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As the American debate reveals, electronic voting can be made secure by adopting what is called a 8216;8216;voter-verifiable audit trail8217;8217;. By attaching a printer to the voting machines, something like the ATMs in banks, a 8216;8216;vote verification slip8217;8217; can be printed, giving the candidate and symbol for which the voter has voted. The voter can thus verify that his vote has been correctly registered, depositing the slip in a safe-box in the polling officer8217;s custody. The boxes, sealed and stored securely, could be referred to in case of a dispute.

The writer is a retired IAS officer