Mumbai: For the first time in Maharashtra, the Election Commision will introduce Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The VVPATs will display the symbol chosen by the voter to dispel any concerns over the working of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
According to a booth-level officer from the Election Commission, after casting their vote on the EVM, details of the party symbol which the voter had chosen will be displayed on the VVPAT for seven seconds, a slip will be printed out with these details which will be dropped automatically into a sealed box.
The VVPAT is a verification system for voting machines which allows voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly. These machines help to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and provide a means to audit the stored electronic results. The VVPAT prints the details on a paper slip, which contains the name of the candidate and their party, chosen by the voter.
This system was recently used in five states — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana, where Assembly polls were held. In case candidates have doubts about the number of votes they polled, observers can open the box to tally the number of votes displayed with the VVPAT slips for the final result.
