How are votes counted?

The final phase of General Elections 2019 concluded on 19th May 2019 and the counting of votes is scheduled 23rd May 2019. The results will also be announced on the same day. The Lok Sabha elections were a one and a half month long season with 7 phases and over 900 million eligible voters. The Election Commission used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to register the votes. Since 2000, the Election Commission has conducted 113 assembly elections and three general elections using EVMs. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was added to the existing EVMs in 2013 to increase transparency in the system. On 8th April 2019, the Supre Court instructed the ECI to match EVMS with VVPATs in five randomly selected polling stations. per assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency.

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.