Results for: VVPAT Machines

The final phase of polling in West Bengal began with reports of violence in the South 24 Parganas district. A local mob looted a polling premises and threw reserve Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), ballot papers, and two VVPAT machines into a pond. The incident occurred at 6.40 a.m. today near the Benimadhavpur FP school in the Kultali assembly constituency. The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal confirmed the incident and stated that an FIR has been lodged and necessary action has been initiated. The poll process in all six booths under the affected sector is continuing uninterrupted with fresh EVMs and papers provided. BJP leader Amit Malviya criticized the incident, alleging that democracy is under threat in West Bengal.

The Supreme Court of India is set to issue directions on Wednesday regarding petitions calling for complete cross-verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). This comes after the court reserved its order on the matter on April 18. The NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ (ADR), a petitioner in the case, has requested the reversal of the poll panel’s 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with opaque glass, which allows voters to view the slip for only seven seconds when the light is on.