Growing criticism of India's Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
Yead Mirza Faced with a wave of criticism from political corners and civil society members for the alleged erroneous and malicious use of the Electronic Voting Machines, India’s Election Commission had introduced the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. A recent Via News Agency report pointed out a major feature of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The report suggests that unlike how Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are used in other countries, this VVPAT mechanism produces of a paper slip which bears the name and symbol of the candidate for whom the elector has voted. The officially stated intention of the Election Commission behind introducing the VVPAT mechanism was to boost the transparency of the electronic voting process. In 2004, EVMs were used nation-wide in India. Later, the technology was used in all assembly polls and the general elections in 2009. It is worth noting that the last Indian parliamentary election in 2014 saw the use of around 1.4 million ...