My voting experience and confidence in EVM

 My voting experience and confidence in EVM

I successfully cast my vote to my preferred candidate today. After retirement in 2017, since I stay at the same place, I did my democratic duty for the third time in succession (first two being the parliament elections in 2019 and assembly elections in 2021). I share my experience at corporation middle school, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore, where I cast my vote.

Around the polling station, there were representatives (from the parties or working for a common cause) sitting in a chair and a small table placed before them. They have the copies of the books, having the voters’ list. Persons, who carry the the voter information slip or who get their names checked with one of the above representatives, go and stand in the queue before the booth number allotted to them. Police personnel deployed were of great help. Separate queues were arranged for men and women and they voted alternately, when their turn came. Those who are aged and or are differently abled were allowed to skip the queue and the assistants accompanying them are also allowed preference to vote early, to accompany the elderly/differently abled back home.

I stood in the queue, which appeared big, and I felt it might take more than an hour to complete the exercise. To my pleasant surprise, I voted in less than half an hour’s time as the arrangements were ‘pick and span’ inside. When you enter inside, authorised representatives  of recognised political parties sit on one side and the polling officers sit on the other side. The first polling officer verify your voter id/voter information slip and calls out the serial number and your name, while making a tick against your name in the list. The authorised representatives of the recognised political parties, who listen to the announcement, also tick the serial number and name in the copy of the voters’ list they possess. The second polling officer verifies your id (voters id or one of the twelve alternative documents specified by election commission) and on satisfying himself/herself, asks you to sign against the booth slip number allotted to you. The third polling officer applies the indelible ink on your fore finger  gives you the slip to enter the booth for casting the vote. The fourth polling officer collects the slip given by the above officer and allow you to go inside the booth to cast your vote. 

Your privacy is well protected and your exercise can be done in absolute confidence that you only know to whom you voted for. Once you are inside, you need to press the blue button against your preferred candidate. The name and photo of the candidate and the symbol allotted to him/her are shown against each contestant. Once you press the blue button, a red button glows against the candidate chosen by you. This adds to your confidence that you pressed the blue button for the right candidate. Within seconds, the name and symbol of the candidate you have chosen, is displayed on a small screen to your left (all happens inside the booth covered with enclosure and you are the only witness). After the small screen disappears, a beep sound indicates that your voting is complete.And you come out.

I felt very much satisfied and a small question that arose in my mind was - when the red button confirms my choice of the candidate after pressing the blue button and the small screen with the name and symbol of the candidate indicate that my vote is cast to the candidate shown in the small screen, where is the need to doubt the electronic voting machine (EVM) or that my vote goes to a candidate, not chosen by me in the voting exercise?

Regards

V. Viswanathan

19th April 2024