Introduction to VVPAT Machines

- Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were recently brought into focus as the Supreme Court decided to address petitions for 100% verification of VVPAT slips in anticipation of the first phase of voting on 19th April 2024.

- VVPAT machines are attached to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) ballot unit and offer visual verification of each vote.

- The machine prints a slip with the details of the candidate chosen by the voter, and this slip is visible behind a glass window for 7 seconds before it drops into a compartment.

- Voters cannot take the VVPAT slip home; instead, it is used to verify votes in five randomly selected polling booths.

- The system aims to foster trust in the electoral process by providing a physical verification method for electronically cast votes.

History and Implementation of VVPAT System

- The idea for the VVPAT machine was proposed in 2010 during a meeting between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and political parties to increase transparency in the EVM-based voting process.

- Prototype design and field trials were conducted in locations including Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi, and Jaisalmer in July 2011.

- The VVPAT system was approved by an expert committee of the ECI in February 2013.

- In 2013, the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, were amended to include provisions for attaching a printer with a drop box to the EVM.

- VVPATs were first used in 2013 in the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland, leading to 100% adoption by June 2017.

Views and Judgments Related to VVPAT

- The Supreme Court mandated the use of VVPATs in Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India Case, 2013, stating the need for their use in conducting transparent elections.

- In 2019, a petition asking for a minimum 50% randomised VVPAT slips count was brought up, although it faced concerns from the ECI regarding issues such as a potential delay in declaring election results.

- However, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that VVPAT slips of five EVMs in every electoral constituency should be counted for utmost accuracy in the voting process.

Statistics Related to VVPAT Slips

- The Election Commission would originally match VVPAT paper slips from 4,125 EVMs under the 'one EVM per assembly segment' rule.

- In 2018, the Election Commission asked the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) to determine a statistically sound and robust sample size for auditing VVPAT slips with EVM results.

- After meticulous calculations by ISI, they suggested counting slips from 479 random VVPATs across the country for over 99% accuracy.

- But with the Supreme Court ruling in 2019, the ECI had to count VVPAT slips of 20,625 EVMs instead.

Brief About ISI

- The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was established in 1932 and is an institute of national importance as accepted by the Indian parliament in 1959.

- The institute is involved in vast research work and collaborates with government and industrial sectors.

- It is supervised by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation in India.