The story so far: In 1982, the township of Paravur caught national media attention. The Kerala constituency, heading to routine Assembly polls, was picked to experiment with a novel, more efficient way of voting. So far, India’s 35-crore-strong electorate used paper ballots; a medium that was tedious, time-consuming and became infamous for rigging and voter fraud. Paravur had a reputation for conducting peaceful elections, and here, the Election Commission conducted its trial: in 50 out of 123 booths, they replaced the traditional paper ballots with electronic voting machines. A controversy, repoll and reversal of the election verdict followed.
The experiment, however, changed the way Indians cast their vote today. Almost 55 lakh EVMs are expected to be in circulation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, set to commence on April 19.
The Electronic Voting Machine was pitched as an answer to a question of scale and security. The technology could simplify the electoral exercise that catered to a democracy of India’s size, and also eliminate voter tampering and manipulation. Over the decades, this solution has produced scepticism. Analysts and political leaders have questioned its transparency, reliability, and the value of a solution that seemingly reproduces similar problems.
