Election FAQs: What is the process for counting VVPAT slips?

As Karnataka gears up for Assembly elections, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to campaign for its candidates and leading the charge for the ruling BJP is PM Narendra Modi himself with back to back road shows and rallies at various parts of the state. The Congress and JD(S) are also not far behind in it as stalwarts from the party are campiagning in full force before the elections in the state on May 10.

So as the people of Karnataka are all set to cats their votes, let's take a look at what happens after one casts their vote using VVPAT.

What is a VVPAT machine?

VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. It is a ballotless system that prints a paper slip with the name of the candidate, their serial number, and the symbol of the party they are standing for.

Election FAQs: What happens when EVMs and VVPATs don't match?

VVPAT allows the voter to verify their choice to ensure no discrepancies. This printed paper slip will be visible to the voter through a transparent glass for approximately seven seconds. The ballot slip will then be separated and it lands in the dropbox of the VVPAT machine, after which a beep is heard.
Also Read | Election FAQs: What is a VVPAT and how does it work in an election?

But, how are VVPAT slips counted?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) suggests that the EVMs and VVPATs of one randomly selected polling station from each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency be verified. Opposition parties have demanded that it be done on 50 per cent of EVM-VVPATs.

The Supreme Court has ordered the EC to do it on five EVM-VVPATTs per assembly segment. The verification of VVPAT paper slips is conducted inside a secured VVPAT Counting Booth in the counting hall. Only authorised personnel have access to this counting booth. Any counting table in the hall can be converted into VVPAT Counting Booth after the completion of EVM vote counting.

The VVPATs to be taken up for counting paper slips are randomly selected through a 'draw of lots' conducted by the Returning Officer in the presence of the General Observer and the candidates or their representatives. The paper slips are counted in a secure VVPAT counting booth, in camera inside the counting hall after the last round of counting of votes on the EVMs in the constituency.

The ECI has decided that the counting of five VVPATs will be done in chronological order. The Returning Officer can declare the final result for the constituency after the VVPAT matching process has been completed.