What's EVM? Why It is Gaining Importance? Familiarise with Interview Questions Asked on Facts of EVM!

Abstract

An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is an electronic device used for recording votes. EVMs came as a replacement to ballot papers and was first used in No. 70 Parvur assembly constituency in Kerala in 1982.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) introduced in India in 1982 allow the citizens to vote electronically and ease the job of the Election Commission of India in counting the votes. 

The Election Commission of India and issues related to Voting are very important when it comes to UPSC Exams or any other Government Exams. 

An EVM comprises of a control unit which is placed with the polling officer and a balloting unit which is placed inside the voting compartment.

A voter needs to press the button against the candidate of his/her choice and then a red light glows against the symbol and name of the candidate for whom the vote has been cast. Simultaneously, a long beep can be heard, which confirms the polling of a particular vote.

— At the booth, a presiding officer will enable the ballot unit after the voter enters the polling compartment

— Press the blue button on the ballot unit against the symbol and name of a candidate of your choice.

— The red light will glow against the name or symbol of the selected candidate and a beep will be heard

— Voter will see a print of a ballot slip containing the name and symbol of the candidate and the serial number

The role of the polling officer is to release a ballot by pressing the ballot button on the control unit. This will allow the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the balloting unit against the candidate and symbol of the voter's choice. Since 2001, the issue of unreliability of EVM's has been raised many times but the election commission has ruled out any scope for manipulation of votes through EVM's.

Keywords 

EVM,  Electronic Voting Machines, Control Unit, Balloting Unit, Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail, VVPAT, Tempering, Hacking, Vulnerability 

Learning Outcomes 

After undergoing this article students will be able to understand the following 

1. What is an Electronic Voting machine (EVM)?

2. What's Control Unit in EVM?

3. What's Balloting Unit in EVM?

4. What's Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) (optional) in EVM?

5. What's Battery or Power Source in EVM?

6. How Display and Buttons in EVM work?

7. What's Process of voting using an EVM?

8. What's Advantages of EVM in election

Faster Results:

Reduced Errors:

Cost Savings:

Minimized Invalid Votes:

Easier for Voters:

Reduced Waiting Time:

Improved Accessibility:

Deterrence of Voter Intimidation:

9. What's Disadvantage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM)?

10. How EVM is Vulnerable to Hacking?

Lack of Transparency:

Limited Voter Verification:

Machine Malfunctions:

Cost and Maintenance:

Limited Auditability 

12. What is EVM Tampering?

Manipulating Software or Firmware:

Physical Tampering:

Interception of Communication:

Malicious Code Injection:

Insider Threats:

13. Conclusion

14. FAQs

References 

1. What is an Electronic Voting machine (EVM)?

An electronic voting machine (EVM) is a portable instrument for the purpose of conducting elections to the parliament, legislature and local bodies like panchayats and municipalities.

 

EVM is a microcontroller-based instrument designed to modernise the election procedure and there is no scope for invalid votes and total secrecy of voting data is maintained and it also facilitates quick and accurate counting. The voting data recorded in EVMs can be retained for years and can be extracted if necessary.

 

The Electronic Voting Machine is a reliable system to conduct elections where one person has to be elected out of many candidates. The EVM is designed for a single post and a single vote.

Through an EVM, a voter can cast their vote for the candidate of their choice or choose the NOTA option. Each EVM has a None of the Above (NOTA) button for electors to use if they don't want to vote for any of the contestants.

2. What's Control Unit in EVM?

The control unit is the main processing unit of the EVM.

It controls the overall functioning of the machine, manages the authentication of voters, and records the votes cast.

3. What's Balloting Unit in EVM?

The balloting unit is the component through which voters cast their votes.

It typically displays the list of candidates and their respective symbols.

Voters make their selections by pressing the button or using a similar interface.

4. What's Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) (optional) in EVM?

A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.

5. What's Battery or Power Source in EVM?

EVMs run on an ordinary 7.5 volt alkaline battery. Therefore, even in areas with no power connections, EVMs can be used. VVPAT runs on a power-pack of 22.5 Volts

6. How Display and Buttons in EVM work?

The EVM includes a display screen that shows the names and symbols of the candidates and their respective political parties.

Voters use buttons or a similar interface to select their preferred candidate.

7. What's Process of voting using an EVM?

The simple process of voting are as follows :

• First polling official will check your name on the voter list and check your ID proof
• Second polling official will ink your finger, give you a slip and take your signature on a register 
• You will have to deposit the slip at the third polling official and show your inked finger and then proceed to the polling booth
• Record your vote by pressing the ballot button opposite the symbol of the candidate of your choice on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM); You will hear a beep sound
• Check the slip that appears in the transparent window of the VVPAT machine. The slip with the Candidate serial No., Name and Symbol shall be visible for 7 seconds before it drops in the sealed VVPAT box
• You can press NOTA, None of the Above, if you don't like any candidate; it's the last button on the EVM

8. What's Advantages of EVM in election

The advantages of use of EVM in the elections are as follows:

Faster Results:

The EVM ensures faster results as the total counting is possible with touch of a key button with segregation to candidate or parties.

Reduced Errors:

No possibility of counting errors 

Cost Savings:

The cost of making ballot papers is costly and for counting require lots of time and efforts.

Minimized Invalid Votes:

The process of using the EVM is easy for Voter. The invalid vote is reduced.

Easier for Voters:

It becomes easy due to its universality in design and simplicity.

Similarly the other advantages are

Reduced Waiting Time:

Improved Accessibility:

Deterrence of Voter Intimidation

9. What's Disadvantage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM)?

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have banned in many developed countries like USA, Gemrnay, and Japan, even it is used in India, the United States, and various other countries. Its hacking is possible and presented in the demo of 2010 in the media.

While EVMs offer several advantages, they also have some disadvantages that have been a source of concern for critics.

Some of the perceived disadvantages of EVMs in elections include:

Vulnerability to Hacking:

Critics argue that EVMs are susceptible to hacking or tampering, raising concerns about the security and integrity of the electoral process.

If an adversary gains access to the EVMs, they could potentially manipulate the results.

There are many modern ways of Hacking the chips with programs

10. How EVM is Vulnerable to Hacking?

The EVM is Vulnerable due to  reasons like

Lack of Transparency:

Limited Voter Verification:

Machine Malfunctions:

Cost and Maintenance:

Limited Auditability 

12. What is EVM Tampering?

Tampering is only possible with physical access and the elaborate sealing process of EVMs done by the ECI prevents this from happening,".

"...The ECI-EVMs are not computer controlled, are stand alone machines and not connected to the internet and /or any other network at any point of time. Hence, there is no chance of hacking by remote devices,".

Manipulating Software or Firmware:

Tampering with the software or firmware of EVMs can alter the way votes are recorded, stored, or transmitted.

Hackers or malicious actors may attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in the software to manipulate election results.

Physical Tampering:

EVMs can be physically tampered with to manipulate votes or compromise their integrity.

This could involve opening the machines and making unauthorized modifications, such as replacing components or installing malicious hardware.

Interception of Communication:

Some EVMs may transmit data wirelessly or via other communication channels.

Tampering can occur if unauthorized individuals intercept or manipulate these communications to alter vote counts or compromise the security of the system.

Malicious Code Injection:

Tampering can involve injecting malicious code into EVMs to alter their behavior during the voting process.

This code could be designed to manipulate votes, compromise security features, or disrupt the operation of the machines.

Insider Threats:

Individuals with authorized access to EVMs, such as election officials or technicians, may engage in tampering either for personal gain or under external pressure.

Insider threats pose a significant risk to the integrity of the electoral process and require robust security measures to mitigate.

Efforts to prevent and detect EVM tampering typically involve a combination of technical safeguards, physical security measures, rigorous testing and certification processes, transparent audit trails, and public oversight.

13. Conclusion

EVM reduces the forgery votes, according to the rules of the election commission, one person cast one vote at a time and EVM saves the votes in its memory, and software was directly governed by polling booth officers. When votes are finally closed, there is no possibility of a fake vote.

14. FAQs

References 

https://www.eci.gov.in/evm/

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