Bihar Assembly Polls: How are votes counted?

With the Bihar Assembly Elections just around the corner, DH explains what happens after you cast your votes, how the votes are counted and more.

How are votes counted?

Counting is done by counting supervisors who are appointed by the Returning Officers (RO). These counting supervisors are selected randomly. The counting supervisors along with the candidates for a particular constituency are present during the counting. Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots (ETPB) and Postal Ballots (PB) are used for counting votes. The votes are counted under the supervision of the Returning Officer. Counting of votes commences 30 minutes after the counting of PBS. Following the end of each round, the results from 13 EVMs are announced.

How are VVPAT slips counted?

The verification of VVPAT paper slips is conducted inside a secured VVPAT Counting Booth. Access to this counting booth is restricted to most people barring authorised personnel. Following the Supreme Court order, VVPAT paper slips from five randomly selected polling stations are to be verified as opposed to the usual one. This would imply that 25-50 machines are to be verified per parliamentary constituency. This process would require supervision from either the Returning Officer or the Assistant Returning Officer.

What happens if there is a discrepancy between the VVPAT count and the EVM results?

In case of a discrepancy, the paper slips of the particular polling station are recounted. If the discrepancy persists, the count established by the paper slips prevails over the EVM vote count. Some opposition parties have demanded that if such a discrepancy occurs, the EC should order the counting of paper slips of all VVPATs in that constituency. The EC, however, hasn't commented on that.