First introduced in 2004, electronic voting machines include two units — control and balloting — which are connected by a cable.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has triggered a debate on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs). While citing concern over potential vulnerabilities of hacking, the tech billionaire, on Saturday, said that the use of electronic voting machines should be eliminated.
Mr Musk on X (formerly Twitter) said, “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high.”
We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high. https://t.co/PHzJsoXpLh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 15, 2024
Soon enough former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar countered Mr Musk’s statement claiming it as a “huge sweeping generalisation” which holds no truth. Take a look at his post here:
This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk ‘s view may apply to US n other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines.
But Indian EVMs are custom… https://t.co/GiaCqU1n7O
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar ???????? (@RajeevRC_X) June 16, 2024
After this senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a post in support of Elon Musk. Calling EVMs a “black box”, Mr Gandhi wrote, “EVMs in India are a ‘black box,’ and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability.”
EVMs in India are a “black box,” and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.
Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.
Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCF pic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024
Amidst the online debate, let us take a look at how EVMs work:
Features of EVMs
First introduced in 2004, electronic voting machines include two units — control and balloting — which are connected by a cable. While the control unit stays with a polling officer, the balloting unit is kept inside the compartment where citizens cast their votes.
In a bid to provide privacy to the voters, the authorities make sure that the balloting unit is covered on all sides. At the time of voting, the polling officer after verifying the identity of the citizens presses the ballot button, which enables them to cast their vote.
EVM’s Ballot Unit
The ballot unit carries the names of the candidates and the respective party symbols, along with blue buttons next to them. As per their choices, the voter has to press the blue button of the candidate whom they want to elect.
EVM’s Control Unit
The control unit that stays with the polling officer includes multiple buttons. Of them all, one is titled “ballot”, which is pressed to indicate that the control unit is ready to record a single vote. Every time the officer presses this ballot button, a red light titled “busy” is turned on.
In addition, when the green light on the ballot unit is switched on, it signals that the machine is ready for voting. Then the voter goes on to press the blue button next to the name of the candidate of his/her choice.
It must be noted that the ballot unit also has a Braille script for visually impaired voters.
After a citizen has cast a vote, the control unit emits a beep sound, indicating that the voting is complete. On top of a control unit, there is one LED screen that shows the total number of votes recorded on it.
Once all votes have been recorded on the control unit, the polling officer presses a button on the side, which seals the unit. A button titled “result” is used on the day of counting to calculate all the votes.
Moreover, there is also a “clear” button that can be used to erase all data from the control unit.
