VVPAT slips match EVM data at 182 booths: EC

VVPAT paper slips of 182 polling stations were counted as part of a pilot project initiated by the Election Commission that was reported by The Indian Express in October 2017 (File)

The Election Commission on Tuesday said that during the counting of votes in Gujarat elections, the number of VVPAT (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips matched with the data of the EVMs at 182 polling booths that were randomly selected for the pilot project, meant to establish the authenticity of EVMs.

“After the formal counting process of the Gujarat polls ended on Monday, the returning officers in each of the Assembly constituencies randomly selected a polling booth where the VVPAT slips were counted and tallied with the data from the EVMs. No mismatch between the two sets of data (from EVM and VVPAT slips) was found during this process,” B B Swain, Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat, said.

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Swain, however, did not divulge the total number of VVPAT slips that were counted and matched with the data from the EVMs. “The EC had sought a report on this process and we will be sending them a report by Wednesday,” the official said. VVPAT paper slips of 182 polling stations were counted as part of a pilot project initiated by the Election Commission that was reported by The Indian Express in October 2017. The pilot project was initiated amid apprehensions of EVM tampering.