EVM-VVPAT Case: Supreme Court Rejects Pleas For Paper Ballot Voting, 100% Cross-Verification

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea seeking 100% cross-verification of votes polled on EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail, or VVPAT. The apex court also rejected the idea of going back to the paper ballot system, as well as the idea of handing over the VVPAT slips to the voter for verification.

The case pertains to a plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, which seeks a direction to the poll panel and the centre to ensure the voters are able to verify through VVPATs that their vote has been 'counted as recorded'.

VVPAT, an independent vote verification system, allows an elector to verify the accuracy of their vote. It generates a paper slip, which can be viewed by the voter. The sealed box holds it, ready for opening in the event of a dispute.

In contrast to the current practice of tallying slips from only five randomly selected EVMs from each assembly segment comprising a parliamentary constituency, the plea calls for a complete count of all VVPAT slips in polls.

Adding another degree of transparency and accountability to the voting process is the main goal of VVPAT. If there are any disputes or claims of electoral fraud, this document can be utilised as an audit trail of the voters' vote.