[While all the rosy claims in favour of the EVMs, in the article at sl. no. I below, may just not hold, I, for one, do consider that under Indian circumstances the EVMs are decidedly a significant improvement over the earlier ballot boxes.
But then, having already given an undertaking before the Supreme Court, given the misgivings and apprehensions as regards the EVMs, the EC must ensure that the VVPAT system is fully implemented at least by the next general election in 2019. Intriguingly enough, the Union Government is apparently holding back the required funds to sabotage the process, as the report at sl. II below makes out.] I/II. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/without-evms-maya-may-have-got-fewer-votes/ Without EVMs, Maya may have got fewer votes March 19, 2017, 2:24 AM IST SA Aiyar in Swaminomics | India | TOI Mayawati says rigged electronic voting machines (EVMs) caused her massive defeat in the UP election. The Election Commission says EVMs are tamper-proof. A new Brookings research study by Shamika Ravi, Sisir Debnath and Mudit Kapoor goes much further. It shows that EVMs have hugely reduced rigging and crime rates, while improving the participation of vulnerable groups. In the late 1980s, booth-capturing was common, especially in north India. Armed gangs seized booths and stuffed ballot boxes. Presiding officers were so intimidated by gangs that they feared even reporting a capture. The ruling party manipulated the polling process and police deployment to aid its own gangs. This threatened the very fundamentals of democracy. In 1991, T N Seshan became Election Commissioner. He declared he would henceforth control police deployment and the phasing of polls. He brought in para-military forces and officials from outside states to ensure fair polling. These steps towards clean elections were followed by the introduction of EVMs in 1998 in 16 constituencies as an experiment. EVM use was gradually extended to more and more states, and finally became the national norm after 2002. EVMs run on alkaline batteries and so are not vulnerable to power cuts. They are designed to register a maximum of five votes per minute. This means it will take far longer for booth capturers to stuff EVMs than traditional ballot boxes, increasing the time for an alarm to be sounded. EVMs also have a button which, when pressed, stops all electronic voting. If a booth capture is attempted, the presiding officer can press this button and make electronic stuffing impossible. FAIR OR FOUL? Studies show that EVMs have helped cleanse politics, cut crime, and embolden vulnerable groups to vote. These features, along with the spread of CCTV cameras and cellphones, made successful booth capture almost impossible. The need for repolling in violence-affected booths has fallen dramatically. EVMs were first introduced only in some constituencies while others had paper ballots, so the researchers could compare outcomes in the two sorts of voting. The most striking outcome was a fall of 3.5% in recorded voter turnout in EVM constituencies compared with conventional ones, evidence of reduced stuffing. The fall was sharpest in the most gang-ridden, misgoverned states of north India. A welcome though unexpected outcome was a sharp fall in the overall crime rate, especially of murder and rape, after EVMs were introduced. The effect was greatest in the gang-ridden states. Earlier, all parties needed gangs to do their dirty work, and the protection they extended to such gangs naturally led to more crime. But EVMs reduced the political need for, and hence protection given to, such gangs. So, the impact of EVMs went far beyond elections to public safety and reduced criminality, a huge bonus. The researchers also analysed post-poll surveys done before counting began, to capture voter views on security in voting. In one CSDS survey, more than 96% of people said the new system was better. Vulnerable groups — Dalits, tribals and women — said they felt much safer and more emboldened to come out and vote after the introduction of EVMs. The power of gangs and dominant castes to intimidate such groups had fallen, a welcome blow for greater, fairer participation. When paper ballots were used, some were rejected for faulty filling or incompleteness. This hurt poor illiterates, who were most likely to bungle their ballots. EVMs have ended the problem of rejected and faulty ballots. Some other claims made by the researchers sound a bit of a stretch, and may require further research for confirmation. For instance, they find that the likelihood of an incumbent being re-elected fell after EVMs were introduced. Does this really prove that, before EVMs, chief ministers were better able to control booth capturing and improve their chances of re-election? More rigorous research is required to establish this. The researchers also find a correlation between the use of EVMs and increased electricity supply in subsequent years. This too may require further confirmatory research. ***There remain legitimate fears that hackers can get into voting systems and manipulate them. No evidence of such manipulation has come to light, in India or any other countries using electronic voting. But eternal vigilance is needed on this front. The Election Commission of India has promised to introduce a paper trail for EVMs by 2019, enabling it to check whether any electronic manipulation has occurred.*** In sum, EVMs deserve three cheers for reducing ballot stuffing and crime rates, and improving minority participation in voting. Without EVMs, Mayawati may have got fewer votes, not more. (The writer’s new book ‘From Narasimha Rao to Narendra Modi’ is being published by Times Books) II. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/letters-for-2-years-sos-to-pm-ec-still-awaits-evm-papertrail-funds-4575546/ Letters for 2 years, SOS to PM, Election Commission still awaits EVM papertrail funds VVPAT machines produce a printout of the vote cast using an EVM, which can be shown to the voter to dispel any doubts. Written by Ritika Chopra | New Delhi | Published:March 19, 2017 5:41 am ***IN A letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi four months ago, the Election Commission sought urgent release of funds to procure enough Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines to cover all polling stations ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The EC has sent over 10 reminders to the government on the matter, since June 2014, and the letter to Modi by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, on October 25, 2016, was an SOS of sorts. The CEC very rarely writes directly to the PM, with its communication to the government on electoral matters normally limited to Law and Home ministries.*** [Video: EVM Issue: Machines Can't Be Tampered With, Says Former Advisor To Election Commission] Several parties, including the BSP, Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party, have raised doubts about tampering of EVMs following the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand results. Before the 2014 general elections, the BJP had talked of EVM tampering on many occasions. VVPAT machines produce a printout of the vote cast using an EVM, which can be shown to the voter to dispel any doubts. This printout is then deposited in a box and can be used to resolve any dispute regarding the election. In 2013, the Supreme Court had ordered the EC to implement the VVPAT system in a phased manner, and the commission had committed to have it in place by the time of the 2019 general elections. The EC has been writing to the Law Ministry (its parent ministry) for funds to purchase approximately 16 lakh VVPATs, for which it needs Rs 3,100 crore. In his letter to Modi, Zaidi wrote, “I’m writing to draw your kind attention to the crisis that may occur during the next General Election to Lok Sabha in 2019, if required numbers of replacement Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and new Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) are not produced in time by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), the two defence PSUs.” He further wrote, “I would like to bring to your notice that Commission submitted its first proposal to the government of India in Ministry of Law & Justice on 16th June, 2014 for the required budget and sanction for EVMs and VVPATs and has pursued the matter continuously since then. “There are already two contempt petitions against me and the Commission being heard by Hon’ble Supreme Court for not deploying VVPATs in adequate number. The production of VVPAT is held up for want of sanction of funds. Hence I would request your good self to kindly look into the matter and advise concerned ministries for release of necessary funds & sanctions for VVPAT most urgently.” The Sunday Express has learnt that on July 20, 2016, the Union Cabinet had at a meeting considered the procurement of VVPATs, but it was decided that the EC should be asked to explore the feasibility of roping in private manufacturers as BEL and ECIL have limited capacity. The EC later turned down the suggestion citing “sensitivity of the job”. In December 2016, the poll panel recommended two other PSUs, namely Indian Telecom Industry in Bangalore and Central Electronics limited in Ghaziabad, to enhance production capacity. On January 10, 2017, Zaidi wrote to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, warning that if orders for VVPATs were not placed by February, manufacturers would not be able to supply the machines by September 2018. During a recent hearing on the contempt petition against the CEC on the matter, the EC told the Supreme Court that it needed 30 months to procure close to 16 lakh paper trail machines. This means that unless it ropes in more manufacturers, the poll panel would miss the 2019 deadline to equip all polling stations with VVPATs. Following the results in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati, who was decimated in the elections, sought a repoll with paper ballots. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal later blamed his party’s loss in Punjab on EVM tampering and asked the EC to tally his party’s EVM votes with the VVPATs installed across 30 seats. The Congress’s losing Uttarakhand CM, Harish Rawat, too has attributed the BJP’s victory to “EVM chamatkar (EVM magic)”. While the EC has rejected all such allegations and reaffirmed its faith in EVMs, in an interview to NDTV news channel on Friday, Zaidi acknowledged that VVPATs would be a “game changer”, which would “double and treble the voter’s confidence in EVMs”. The poll panel needs 16,15,066 VVPATs by 2019, when the Lok Sabha elections would be held simultaneously with state elections in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana. One machine costs Rs 19,650. The poll panel already has about 20,000 units and has placed order for another 67,000 VVPATs, of which half have been delivered. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. 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